In the Dog House
by Lights aura858
Summary: Or how I learn a dog's life isn't what it's cracked up to be, my name is Sophie whether I like it or not, never trust handsome gentlemen callers, and turtles can make interesting owners...
1. Chapter 1

The Beginning

* * *

L.A.: Hi! I'm Lights aura and this is my first TMNT fic. This idea just came to me the other day, and I got the urge to write it. FYI South Seaport and Pier 16 do exist. I've been there and it is a really cool place. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. If I did, I would be one happy person right about now.

* * *

I was running, my feet padding hard against the cold cement. Rain was pouring from the night sky drenching me to the bone. But, I couldn't stop. If I stopped, they would catch me. If I stopped, they would win.

I ducked into a nearby alley and crouched behind an old trash bin. My nose wrinkled in disgust from the noxious fumes that seemed to seep from the bin. Having a sharp sense of smell was starting to be more of a curse than a blessing. I resisted the urge to gag as I peered out behind the bin. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in a nearby puddle, I grimaced.

I was defiantly a mutt. That, I was sure about. I looked like a white version of a golden retriever with blue eyes. My ears stuck upwards and were slightly bent at the tips. I looked a little worse for wear with the smeared dirt all over me and my drenched matted fur.

The sound of movement from up ahead caused me to look away from my reflection. There were three of them. I didn't have to smell them to know they were the ones looking for me. They were still in their lab coats with the strange red design on the back, too busy chasing me to take time to change. They held up their tracking devices as they scanned the area. Glancing down the alley, I realized that it was a dead end. I was trapped, and it was only a matter of time until they found me.

As the scientists drew closer to my hiding spot, I couldn't help but wonder how I had ever gotten into this mess.

* * *

2 Days Earlier

My name is Chloe Delmar and I am completely bored out of my mind. At sixteen years old, I have blond hair with blue eyes. I have a genuine interest in learning but even I can lose interest when it comes to a monotone condescending teacher like the one who was currently lecturing. Plus, you couldn't blame me for not focusing when my thoughts were elsewhere.

Tonight, a big party was being held down at Pier 16 at South Seaport. It was supposed to be the party of the century and my best friend Lindsey and I were going. Glancing over at my best friend, I saw that she was about to fall asleep. Lindsey Stones is a sixteen year old brunette with green eyes. With a smirk, I threw a wad of paper at her. Lindsey yelped as she looked around for the cause of her surprise. Seeing the wad of paper, she looked in my direction and glared.

I smiled innocently.

Leaning towards me, Lindsey whispered, "If you don't behave then I won't give you the ticket to the party."

I gave her my best puppy dog eyes. "But, you promised. Plus, how can you have fun without me?"

"Do you two ladies have something more important to discuss than my class?" The professor asked.

Lindsey and I grinned sheepishly.

* * *

After classes, we made the long walk back to our apartment. I was once again living with Lindsey since my parents were gone for another three week business trip. These business trips happened about five to six times a year. In fact, Lindsey's family had set up a room especially for those times I visited.

I know that I should be more upset that my family is never around. The truth is that I considered Lindsey and her family more of family. They were there all the time, listening to my stories, making me feel better when I was sad, and always getting me to laugh.

Once we reached the apartment, we quickly burst in nearly running Mrs. Stones over. Mrs. Stones is an older replica of Lindsey with glasses.

"Girls," Mrs. Stones said, "Where are you going in such a rush?"

"Sorry Mrs. Stones," I said sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry mom but we need to go get ready for the party," Lindsey added.

Mrs. Stones sighed. "Fine, but remember, you have to be back by midnight."

"Yes mam," We saluted her.

Mrs. Stones rolled her eyes as we bounded off to Lindsey's room.

"Okay," Lindsey said, "We have to choose something completely amazing for tonight's party… which means I have to borrow your sparkly black spaghetti strap."

"Only if I get to borrow your cute pink mini skirt," I said. I had the perfect outfit in mind.

Lindsey froze as she looked around the room. Holding her finger to her lips, she ripped open her closet doors. Grinning sheepishly back at her was a little blond haired boy.

"Todd get out!"

With a yelp, Todd flew out of the room.

"Stupid twerp," Lindsey murmured as she slammed the door after her.

"I think he's kind of cute," I said with a grin, "In a teddy bear sort of way."

"That's because he isn't your little brother," Lindsey sighed, "So, back to outfits."

* * *

By eight, we were ready to go. I had decided on the pink mini skirt with a black v neck tank while Lindsey wore the sparkly black spaghetti strap with a red flowing skirt. After saying our goodbyes, we hopped into a cab.

South Seaport was on the other side of the city, which like any New Yorker would know, would take forever to get to by walking. We idly chatted as the cab speed off. Once we arrived, we paid the cab driver. Looking around, we gasped.

New York had really out done itself. The dock was decorated with lights and party favors. A live band was blasting away on the stage. Teenagers were everywhere dancing and partying the night away.

We looked at each other as a squeal escape our lips.

"Well, Chloe," Lindsey said as she linked arms with me, "I think this night is going to change history."

Thinking about it, there was such irony in her words. Unfortunately, I missed it at the time. I nodded as we delved into the crowd.

Two hours later, we were slouched by the bar drinking water. Partying the night away could be very taxing on the body. Lindsey giggled as she leaned towards me. "Hey Chloe, that guy over there has been checking you out all night."

I casually glanced in the direction Lindsey had indicated. A young man of Japanese decent was watching me. He was a few years older with short black hair and bright blue eyes. A grin spread across his face as he saw me looking at him. Blushing slightly, I grinned back. Seeming to be encouraged, the man made his way towards us.

"Oh my gosh," Lindsey giggled. "He's coming this way."

"Hello ladies," the man said with a grin, "How are you tonight?"

"We're fine," I said.

"My name is Kai and you are?"

"Lindsey," Lindsey said as she shook his hand.

"Chloe," When I went to shake his hand, he grabbed it and kissed the top.

"What a lovely name." Kai said as he flashed his perfect teeth once more. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"Of course she will," Lindsey cut in as she shoved me towards him. "I'll be over here." She winked at me before walking off.

_I'm going to kill Lindsey later, _I thought as I awkwardly rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about that."

"Not at all," Kai said as he led me to the dance floor. "If it wasn't for her I might not have been able to dance with you."

I was surprised at how gentlemanly Kai behaved. He even tolerated my nervous habit of talking nonstop while dancing. After a couple of dances, I was pretty sure I had told him my entire life story. The fact that he hadn't run away out of sheer boredom proved how amazing Kai was.

"Would you care to accompany me to the pier? I know an excellent spot to view the stars."

A goofy smile appeared on my face. "Love to."

We walked silently towards the pier. I let out a gasp as I raced to the end. "Wow, look at the moon, isn't it gorgeous?"

A smirk appeared on Kai's face. "You are perfect."

I turned back to him, a frown on my face. Something wasn't quite right about his voice. It seemed more sinister than before…more deadly. "Pardon me?"

"You're absolutely perfect," He said as his smile transformed into an evil grin.

A sharp pain coursed through my neck. Reaching up, I found a dart sticking from my neck. I pulled it out and stared at it dumbly. "What's going on?" I asked as my eyes fluttered close and I pitched forward.

Kai caught me. As my vision started to fade, I noticed that Kai was focusing on the shadows. "Alert the master," he said, "We have a new test subject." That was the last I heard before I faded into oblivion.

* * *

When I awoke, everything was blurry. I couldn't quite shake off the drowsiness either. Luckily, my ears still seemed to be functioning properly. Letting out a groan, I tried to move around but found that I was strapped down.

"She's waking up," said a voice that sounding an awful lot like Kai.

"Get another sedative," said a deeper male voice, "we can't have her aware just yet."

"Do you think Mistress Karai will condone what we are doing?" Kai asked as I felt something sharp stick into my left arm.

"What Mistress Karai doesn't know won't hurt her," the other voice said.

I slowly faded away into oblivion once more.

* * *

When I awoke again, I was screaming in pain. My body was going through spasms and my head felt as if it were on fire.

I felt myself being held down as I heard a voice say, "What is happening, master?"

"She's having a reaction," the deep male voice from before said calmly, "We need to try and stabilize her so that her body can adjust…"

I passed out once more, the pain too great to bear.

* * *

With a gasp, I awoke. This time, my body only ached dully. My head felt okay and my sense of smell was perfectly fine maybe even better than before. Glancing around, I noted that I was in what looked like a cell. My joints protested as I stood up on all fours. I felt slightly nauseous as I swayed back and forth. Something brushed against my legs. Glancing back, I froze. My eyes were widened as I tried to process what I was seeing. A white fluffy tail was swinging back and forth on its own accord. _This can't be happening, _I thought as I glanced down at my hands… only to find myself looking at paws instead. Trying to stay calm, I forced myself to crawl over to a glass fragment that lay on the floor nearby. Taking a deep breath, I glanced into it. When I saw my reflection, I completely lost control.

"They turned me into a dog!" I yelled. Instead of words, barks, howls, and growls came out of my mouth. This had to be some completely messed up nightmare. I glanced down at my tail again. It twitched and I completely broke down. I succumbed to open mouth sobs. If anyone were listening to me, they would think I had rabies with all the snarling, howling, and whimpering.

"Geez, would you cut down on the racket," a high pitched voice said angrily. "You're hurting my poor little ears."

I stopped short in my sobbing as I looked around the room. "W-who's there?"

"Down here, mutt," the voice said. I glanced down and found myself staring at a rat. "So," the rat continued, ignoring my dumbfounded expression, "are you sick?"

"You're talking," I said in disbelief. "Rats don't talk."

"Uh, hello?" the rat said as he wrapped my paw. "Earth to mutt? All animals talk, it's the humans who can't."

I frowned. I was getting tired of the rat's condescension. "I am not a dog. I'm a human."

The rat laughed. "Oh, and I'm not a rat. I'm a lion."

"I'm serious," I said in exasperation, "Those guys did something to me." I looked around desperately, "I need to find a way out of here." I glanced back at the rat. "Do you know a way out?"

The rat quirked an eyebrow. "Not unless you are a rat." The rat froze as it noticed me starting to tear up. "Don't tell me you're going to cry again?"

"No," I said, my voice a pitch higher than usual.

The rat sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll see what I can do." He quickly scurried back to his hole in the wall.

Cocking my head, I could hear it running around in the walls. Moments later, the grate to an air duct popped loose. The rat looked rather pleased with itself as it appeared in the duct. "Come on, this way."

I frowned. "How am I supposed to get up there?" The duct was a few feet off the ground. If I were human, I would have been able to jump up and grab it easily. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Just jump."

I sighed. What did I have to lose? I backed up a couple of paces to allow myself a running start. "Here goes." Taking a deep breath, I ran forward and jumped. I fell a little short but I was able to grab the edge of the duct with my front paws. With a slight whine, I flailed my back legs as I tried to pull myself up. After a moment, I was able to get a good hold and pulled myself in. It was a tight squeeze but luckily I was able to fit in.

"Follow me," the rat said as it headed down the duct. I tried to be as quiet as possible, afraid that they would notice my disappearance.

After a few minutes, we came to a fork. The rat paused as it sniffed the air and looked both ways. "This way… I think" it said as it headed off to the left.

I winced, wondering if it was wise to follow the rat. After ten more minutes, we came to a dead end at a grate. The rat unscrewed the grate as if it were nothing, letting it drop on the other side.

"You've had a lot of practice doing this, haven't you?" I asked.

The rat smiled mischievously. "What can I say? I am a rat of many talents." He motioned to the now open duct. "There's your exit."

I peered out of the air duct and gasped. The ground looked to be about ten or fifteen feet below. "Are you crazy? I can't make that."

The rat sighed, "Oh honestly, do I have to do everything?" The rat bit my tail. I let out a yelp and spun away. This move made me lose my balance, and before I knew what was happening, I was falling out the grate.

I let out a loud howl as I plummeted to the ground. _This is the end,_ I thought, _I'm going to die as a dog!_

With an oomph, I landed on a pile of garbage.

"Hey!" the rat called, "Are you alright?"

"You did that on purpose," I said angrily, "I could have died." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "And now I smell like garbage."

The alarm to the building went off.

"Run!" the rat yelled, his whiskers whirling. "They know you've escaped."

There was no need to tell me twice.

* * *

Cowering behind the trashcans, I let out a gasp when they were tossed aside. The three scientists grinned when they saw me. "Alright doggie," the one on the left said. "It's time to go home."

I growled knowing it was useless but determined to not go down without a fight. From out of nowhere, a figure emerged tackling the three scientists. I watched in amazement as the figure made quick work of them with some sort of long stick. Once the three scientists were incapacitated, the figure returned the stick to its holder and faced me. I squinted as I tried to make out my savior. He seemed off somehow.

"Hey there," the figure said, his voice sounding gentle and sincere. "Are you alright?" As the figure stepped into the light of a street lamp, I let out a gasp.

A giant turtle stood before me. He wore a purple mask across his eyes. He wore elbow, wrist, and knee pads and a belt was tied around his waist.

All that had happened to me had finally taken its toll. The adrenaline rush was gone and I found that I couldn't hold my weight up anymore. My eyes rolled up into my head as I collapsed on the cold ground.

* * *

L.A.: Well that's the first chapter. I have the next one which I'll post in the hopes of enticing more readers and reviewers. Please do review. I love to know what you think.


	2. Meet the Owners

Meet the Owners

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L.A.: Here's the next chapter as promised. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

I woke up to the gentle coaxing of a familiar voice. My mind was still muggy but one thought rang clear.

My left ear was itching like crazy.

When I finally forced my eyes open, I found myself staring into the eyes of my turtle savior. That was when everything came back to me. I had been turned into a dog, escaped with the aid of a rat, and was saved by a turtle. Man, my life is weird.

"Hey girl, it's okay," the turtle said as he rubbed my head gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I tilted my head sideways trying to get him to go towards my ear. He seemed to understand since the next moment, he was scratching it. A dopey grin appeared on my face. That felt so nice. I took a moment to view my surroundings. I was sitting on a red sofa. A huge TV made up of several smaller ones was in front of me. Behind me was a kitchen and hallway that lead to another room. There was a second level where I assumed more rooms were.

It took me a moment to realize that the turtle had stopped petting me. I turned and frowned at him. "Why did you stop? I didn't tell you too." I said. Of course, I had forgotten that all he would hear were barks and growls.

"It's okay, girl" the turtle said, "I'm just going to check your paw."

What? I turned my gaze to my left paw. It had been wrapped in gauze. When did it get bandaged up? Better yet, when did I hurt it?

The turtle gingerly picked up my paw as he slowly unwrapped the gauze. I was surprised at how careful and precise he was. He must have had a lot of practice. As he was inspecting it, a loud voice called from the other side of the room. "Hey Donnie! Is the dog awake yet?"

A turtle wearing an orange mask craned his neck over the sofa to look at me. My eyes widened. Great, now I have two turtles to worry about.

My turtle, who if I guessed correctly was called Donnie, let out a sigh. "Mikey, don't get in her face. She's been through a lot so she might react violently out of fear."

At the moment, I was more likely to pee in my pants than to react violently.

"How do you know the dog is a she," a turtle in a blue mask asked as he came up, "Did you check?"

Donnie frowned. "You know, I never got around to checking. I just assumed…"

I let out a growl as I flattened myself against the sofa. There was no way he was going to check.

Mikey grinned. "Donnie not studying something? That's a first."

A turtle with a red mask laughed as he walked towards us. "Yeah, but I don't think you're going to get that chance. She looks like she is gonna bite our heads off."

"Her actions are understandable," said a giant rat in a robe. "She is in a new place and cannot understand us. No wonder she is scared."

Great, first four mutant turtles now a mutant rat. My day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I wonder if the rat from the cell is related to him. I shook my head. No, I may not know much about this rat but I could already tell he was kind.

"I wonder why the Foot was after her?" the blue banded turtle said.

I wrinkled my nose as I tried not to laugh. The Foot? Why the heck would someone name their secret evil organization the Foot? I wonder if they have a special division called the Toe.

"I don't know," The red banded one said, "But how 'bout we persuade one of them to tell us." He held up two neat looking knifes.

"Raph," the blue banded turtle said with a sigh.

"Aw come on, Leo" Raph said. "You've been just as annoyed as I have that the Foot are on the streets again."

"Yes I am," Leo frowned. "But I'm not going to go and pick unnecessary fights with them."

Raph laughed. "Unnecessary? It's because of them that we're limited to where we can go at night."

Both of them looked like they were about to fight. Even though I barely knew them, for some reason, I found I didn't want them to fight. So, I did the only thing I could think of to prevent the fight. I let out a high pitched howl.

Everyone winced as they clapped their hands over their ears… well, at least the rat was covering his ears. I couldn't see the turtles' ears so I assumed they were covering where their ears were supposed to be.

When I stopped, Raph was the first to speak. "Geez, what the shell was that about?" Man, was this guy ever not angry? It seemed highly unlikely.

Donnie looked as if he was trying not to laugh. "I think she was trying to prevent you from fighting."

I grinned as my tongue lapped out. Wait, I was panting? I forced my tongue back into my mouth. This didn't last long since seconds later, it was back out again.

This was going to take some getting use to.

"Can we keep her, Master Splinter?" Mikey asked as he put on his best pitiful face, "Please?"

"She doesn't have a collar," Donnie added.

"Having a dog, takes a lot of responsibility," Master Splinter, the rat, said, "She will not be like Klunk."

Klunk? Please don't let Klunk be a giant snake.

"If you keep her, she's your dog, not mine," Raph said.

I glared at him. What was his problem anyway? I am absolutely adorable. If I were a human, I would so adopt me…even though I'm a mutt.

Leo shrugged, "It's fine by me."

"Alright!" Mikey said as he threw his fists in the air. "Now we have to come up with a name for you… how about Sophie?"'

I frowned. Sophie? My name was Chloe. I told him such but once again, all that came out were barks and growls. Seriously, I need to remember that.

"I think she likes it," Mikey said as he rubbed my head. "Well, Sophie's your name."

I let out a sigh. Guess I'm going to have to get used to the name change.

Just then, I saw a flash of orange from the corner of my eye. Glancing over, I found myself staring at a young orange kitten.

"Hey Klunk!" Mikey said as he scooped up the kitten, "meet your new housemate."

Klunk glared at me and I was overcome with the urge to chase him. I promptly banged my head repeatedly into the sofa's arm rest.

"That dog is strange," Raph said as Donnie and Leo laughed sheepishly.

* * *

L.A.: I know it's short but I figured I better get the guys in if I wanted people interested. I'll try to update within the week. See you next chapter!


	3. Learning the Lair

Learning the Lair

(Or Learning that if You Mess with Donnie's Coffee Pot You Will Get Burned)

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L.A.: Okay I was going to wait to see if I got anymore reviews but the writer part of me got the better of me so here's the next chapter.

* * *

I frowned. It was seven in the morning and Donnie was still awake. In fact, I think he had been awake all night. I let him get by with it since he put a blanket on the ground for me. Apparently, one of the perks of being a dog is that you can fall asleep anywhere. However, this was not going to happen again. I need to sleep in a bedroom not a lab. Plus, it can't be healthy for him either.

Glancing over at him, I noticed he seemed to be in his own little world. He was hunched over some object fiddling away at it. A fresh pot of coffee sat to his left. The smell was ten times better with my dog nose. I wish I did like coffee. I guess it was like potpourri and pipes. You like the smell of them but you wouldn't actually eat it.

I could tell that there was no point staying in the room. I could fall over dead and Donnie wouldn't notice. So, I decided to do what I needed to do. Check out the rest of the lair as they called it and learn more about my "masters."

I quietly slipped out of the room. As I crept down the stairs, I heard loud snoring coming from the sofa. Curious, I craned my neck to see who it was.

Mikey was sprawled across the sofa, his mouth wide open as he snored. A grin spread across my face as I shook my head. Mikey reminded me of the little brother I never had. Glancing at the clock, I decided that I would give him another hour before I would give him a rude awakening. A.k.a. jumping on top of him and barking loudly in his ear.

Finding nothing of interest in the main room, I decided to explore the hallway I had seen the previous night. The hallway ended at a room that looked like a gym. There were mats on the floor and weights were sitting on a rack off to the side. A punching bag was next to it and sitting in the middle of the room cross-legged with his eyes closed was Leo.

I think he was meditating since he didn't move when I entered the room. Leo seemed the type of person…er turtle to notice if you entered the room even if you entered quietly.

Out of sheer boredom, a strange thought came to my mind. With an evil grin, I crept up to Leo and sat in front of him. Putting on a blank face, I stared at him.

I wasn't sure what I was trying to accomplish. I was probably just wondering if he would freak out over the fact that I was staring at him. After five minutes, I realized that if he did notice, he wasn't going to react.

My boredom taking over once more, I glanced around the room. My eye was caught by something shiny off to my right. Sitting on a rack were a couple of swords and those knifes Raph had earlier.

The dog part of me was fascinated with the fact that it was shiny. The human part was fascinated since I have an obsession with swords. I crept towards the weapons to get a closer look. I had always dreamed of learning how to fence. The art of swordsmanship had always fascinated me. Seeing the swords, I was overcome with the urge to pick one up. So, naturally I reached out to grab one. It wasn't until I touched it that I realized my paws didn't have opposable thumbs. The rack wobbled and starting falling towards me.

With a yelp, I shot off and hid behind the punching bag.

Glancing back at the rack, I noticed that Leo was already over there examining the damage. I lifted an eyebrow in surprise. I didn't realize he could move so fast.

With a sigh, Leo glanced over at me. "Are you okay, Sophie?"

I barked to let him know I was okay.

"Let me guess, Donnie hasn't feed you yet."

I stared at him blankly.

He sighed again. "Come on, I'll get you some food." He shook his head. "Man, I must be tired. I'm acting like the dog can understand me."

I butted his hand and rubbed it affectionately. I figured I should let him know that he wasn't as crazy as he thought.

I trotted after him back to the main room. I guess I was happy that I was going to be fed and had someone to entertain me.

I cocked my head as I watched Leo scrounge around the cabinets. I hoped he would give me Cheerios. That was my favorite breakfast meal.

He poured something into a bowl and set it down for me. Looking down, I saw lumpy brown chunks in my bowl. I raised an eyebrow. Looking up at Leo, I let out a mixture between a growl and a whine.

"It's dog food," Leo said as he squatted to my eye level. He pointed to it. "It's good for you."

Yeah, if I were really a dog. I glared at him. With a snort, I shoved my bowl away from me and turn my back to it.

Leo looked uncomfortable at my reaction. "Come on, you've got to eat."

I sent him another glare.

"Sophie?" Donnie called as he entered the room.

"She's in here," Leo said, "refusing to eat her breakfast."

Heh, I'd like to see him eat this pile of crud.

Donnie glanced down at my food dish and winced. Obviously, he could tell it was as bad as I thought. He quickly recovered and said, "Um, sometimes dogs will only like certain types of dog food." He scanned the cabinets as he picked up my bowl and dumped the contents in the trash bin. He grabbed a box and poured some food in my bowl before putting it down before me. "Let's see if she'll eat this for now." I couldn't hide my shock. It was Cheerios. Seriously, Donnie must be psychic.

As I ate, I glanced over at Leo. His expression was neutral. I felt kind of bad about my reaction towards him. He was only trying to do the right thing. So, I walked over to Leo and nuzzled his hand.

A grin appeared on his face as he scratched my head. "You're a good girl, Sophie." After he finished petting me, he went back towards the gym, probably to clean up my mess and practice more. Glancing at Donnie, I saw that he was walking back to his lab. Curious, I followed him.

Before he sat back down, I was able to catch a glimpse of what he had been working on. It looked like a remote modular. My guess is that he is some sort of inventor. Over to his left was a fresh pot of coffee…wait a minute… another pot of coffee? I frowned. There is no way I will let Donnie become a coffee addict while I'm here.

I growled at him as he poured himself another cup. "Sophie, go over there. I don't have time to play with you right now," he said, sounding distracted. He never even took his eyes of the remote.

I glared at him then at the coffee pot. Obviously, I had to take matters into my own hands. I scrunched my nose as I thought of the best way to make what I was about to do look like an accident. Wait a minute, I was a dog. Anything I did could be considered an accident.

With that thought in mind, I crept over to the power outlet. Grabbing the cord to the coffee maker, I yanked it hard sending the coffee pot sailing off the desk. It crashed to the ground and shattered everywhere.

Donnie stared at the coffee remains horrified before turning his attention to me. Seeing me, he glared.

I quickly spat out the cord, trying to look innocent.

Standing up, he wagged his finger at me. "Bad dog, Sophie!"

I growled. How dare he talk to me as if I were a dog…oh, wait…

"You were bad!" Donnie said.

"Drinking too much coffee is bad for you," I told him as I backed away from him, "it causes heart palpitations and you die."

Donnie was staring at me in confusion. That confusion turned into fear as he noticed where I was going. "Sophie, stay!"

It was too late. I bumped into the desk hard. The coffee mug on the desk wobbled before toppling over sending its hot contents all over my tail.

A strange squeal escaped my throat as I began to run around the room.

"Sophie, stay. I need to get ice on that," Donnie said helplessly.

Unfortunately, I wasn't in a state to listen to him. It felt as if all my nerve endings were in my tail. If I lived through this, I was never going to hurt my tail again.

* * *

Finally after five minutes, Donnie was able to grab me and force me down. Taking an ice pack, he set it gently on my tail. Immediately, I started to feel better.

"Looks like I'm patching you up again, girl" Donnie said gently, "You are a klutz, you know that?"

I frowned. It wasn't my fault that the fates were against me. Still, it felt kind of nice, sitting in Donnie's arms.

"What was that sound," Mikey moaned as he entered the room. "It woke me up." He raised an eye ridge as he saw us.

Donnie sighed. "Sophie ran into the desk and caused my coffee mug to spill all over her tail."

"And the coffee pot?"

"She knocked it over. I'm going to need a new one."

_And we're going to go through this again, _I thought, _I'm going to break your coffee addiction._

"Well, as soon as she is patched up, Master Splinter said we're supposed to turn her out," Mikey said.

I frowned. Turn me out…oh, crud.

* * *

"Sophie," Mikey whined, "Can't you just go already? I'm missing my show!"

I glared at him. I may have been turned into a dog but I hadn't lost my self-respect. They had taken me to an abandon part of the sewer intending to make me do my business. I had every attention of just sitting there ignoring them. Avoiding their stares, I turned my attention to my tail. Donnie had a time wrapping it up and it now looked like a giant wad of gauze. It was rather heavy which had caused me to walk in a wobbly path before I got used to it.

"Sophie," Donnie said firmly, "We're not leaving until you go."

I let out a growl. The truth was that I had to go but I'd rather bust a gut than go in front of them. To find some sort of compromise, I glanced around the sewer for some sort of hiding place. A pile of garbage was off to the left. I trotted over to it and looked behind it. As luck would have it, there was just enough room for me to squeeze in.

Moments later, I returned with a smirk on my face.

Donnie let out a sigh, "Of course, we would get the self-conscious dog."

Mikey laughed. "Self-conscious…wait, what?"

* * *

When we returned, Master Splinter, Leo and Raph were in the main room.

Raph took one glance at me and asked. "What happened to her?"

"Burnt her tail from coffee," Donnie said as he flopped down on the couch.

"Heh, what a stupid dog," Raph said.

I growled.

"Hey Raphie," Mikey said, "Stop being mean to Sophie." He scratched my head. "She's just a special dog."

I frowned. Special…as in stop eating the paste special? I decided to take it as a compliment and allowed him to continue petting me. Another perk of being a dog. People cannot help but pet you when you come up to them, well except for Raph but he's weird. It's like I have mind control…or it could be my amazingly soft fur.

Glancing over at Raph, I noticed something off about him. Call it a dog's intuition but there was some reason why he didn't want anything to do with me.

Standing there, I decided that I was going to somehow make him like me even if it killed me…okay maybe I wouldn't go that far.

* * *

L.A.: There is a reason why Raph is trying to distance himself from Chloe/Sophie. That will be revealed later. I'll try to keep the turtles in character so let me know if they ever seem too out of character. Anyway, see you next chapter!

* * *


	4. The Collar

The Collar

(You Actually Expect Me to Wear That Thing?)

* * *

L.A.: Thank you so much for your reviews! They make me so happy. You're reward is this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The turtles are freaking ninjas! I'm not kidding. They are freaking ninjas.

I discovered this when Master Splinter forced all four of them into the gym for training. He must have sensed that I wanted to watch because he did not discourage me from following them.

There was a little bench in the corner. I went over to it and sat underneath it so that I wouldn't be in the way.

The turtles gave me weird looks but I just grinned.

"My sons," Master Splinter said, causing all four to turn their attention to their sensei. "You must now practice your ninjutsu training. Donatello, Leonardo you will spar with each other while Michelangelo and Raphael will spar against one another."

Raph grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm so gonna to enjoy this."

Mikey smirked. "You seemed be forgetting that I was the Battle Nexus Champ…" He was cut off when Raph smacked him upside the head. "Ow."

I giggled as I watched them take their places.

I felt as if I was watching a show. Their moves were graceful and elegant. It seemed as natural to them as breathing. I could almost sense a rhythm in their movements.

During their practice, I actually learned the name of their weapons. Raph's knifes were actually called sais, Leo's swords were katanas, Donnie's stick was a bo staff, and Mikey's weapon were nunchuckus.

I was kind of disappointed when they finished practicing. I was having fun watching them. It almost made me want to learn… but then I remembered I'm a dog.

As soon as practice was over, Mikey declared he had to go top side to get something. Since it was still day time, he had to really persuade Leo before he got to go.

I could understand Leo's caution. People would love to get their hands on a giant talking turtle.

The smell of tea filled my nose. It was strange but it seemed that smells intoxicate me. I wonder if other dogs have this problem. One minute, I was minding my own business, the next, I was stumbling back from a smell. Also, I was starting to notice the turtle's and Master Splinter's scents.

I know what you're thinking and it's not that kind. It's a different one.

For instance, Mikey smells like pizza. Weird, I know, but whenever he walks by, I smell pizza. Master Splinter smells like tea, Donnie smells like cinnamon, Raph smells like jalapenos, and Leo smells like chamomile.

It could be a representation of their personalities. Or, I could be going crazy.

Not only do I have to deal with my heightened sense of smell, but also my hearing. I kept being spooked by the water running through the pipes or an insect scurrying behind the walls. Also, sounds that I normally took for granted as a human, I noticed now. For example, people's breathing. It seems mundane but it's actually kind of cool to listen to since each person has their own rhythm of breathing. Sometimes it changes when their emotions change. It's one of the ways I could tell how a person was feeling. That and my strange dog's intuition.

A blur of orange shot by me on the way to Mikey's room. My guess was that it was Klunk. He's been avoiding me like the plague. I tried telling him that I wasn't a dog but all he did was glare and hiss at me.

I find this rather insulting because I used to hold cats in a high regard. My uncle and aunt had a cat and whenever I went over to see them I would always play with their cat. Then again their cat acted like a dog… maybe I didn't know cats as well as I thought I did.

* * *

It was almost dinner when Mikey finally returned. He had a strange grin on his face and held a bag in his right hand.

"Sophie!" Mikey sang, "I've got a present for you."

Cocking my head, I trotted up to him. I really hoped he brought me a bone. I shook my head. I had to stop thinking like a dog.

With a grand bravado, he reached into his bag and pulled out a hunk of leather. "Tada!"

I raised an eyebrow and let out a half whine.

"Uh, Mikey, what is that?" Leo asked cautiously.

"It's Sophie's collar," Mikey said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "See, it even has her name on the tag."

Squinting, I could make out the collar. Personally, I thought it looked like it had just been run through the paper shredder.

Looking up at Mikey, I saw that he was looking at me with a puppy dog expression. He had gone to a lot of trouble in getting it and I would feel horrible if I hurt his feelings. With a sigh, I caved in. Wagging my tail, I allowed him to put the collar on.

"See," Mikey, "It looks great and Sophie likes it."

"That's probably cause she's color blind," Raph said.

I frowned. Raph had brought up an interesting point. Dogs have been known to be able to tell the difference between yellow and blue but that was about it. For some reason, even though I was a dog, I was still able to see in color. What did that mean exactly? I had retained my mind but did I also retain other human qualities?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. All this thinking was making me hungry. I glanced around the room. I had to find the weakest link. The one who would sneak me food. My eyes landed on Mikey. He'll do.

* * *

I glared at the clock again. It was almost 1:00 and Donnie was still working. It seemed he was planning another all nighter.  
I growled. It seemed I was going to have to take matters into my own hands. As Donnie got up to grab another part, I went in. I started barking and growling as I nipped at his toes.

"Sophie!" Donnie said as he backed up. I continued my barking, growling and nipping as I directed him to toward the door.

Earlier that day, I had taken the liberty of figuring out which room was Donnie's. So, it was relatively easy directing him there.

Poor Donnie, probably thought I had gone mad. He didn't though, make any attempt to stop me. It was a testament to his character. He would rather save fighting for a last resort. The others must have heard the commotion because they were standing outside their rooms watching. They didn't make a move to stop me. They knew I was weird and were probably trying to figure out what I was doing.

Once Donnie stepped into his room, I wagged my tail and shot the other turtles a grin before following him. I could have sworn I heard them snickering.

Donnie made a step towards the door and I growled. He sighed, "Okay, I get it. I'll go to bed." He slipped under his covers. "Happy?"

I frowned. I knew better. As soon as he thought I was asleep, he would sneak back out again. He may do that, but I was going to make it hard for him.

With a smirk, I jumped up onto his bed and sprawled myself on top of him.

I felt Donnie sigh. "You may have won the battle but you haven't won the war."

I grinned as my eyes closed. Bring it on.

* * *

L.A.: I know there isn't much action in the past few chapters but don't worry, it's about to get interesting real soon. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. It may be tomorrow or it may be a couple of days. It depends on how things pan out. Anyway, please continue to review.

See you next chapter!


	5. One Week Later

One Week Later

(Flashbacks suck!)

* * *

L.A.: Hey everyone! Thanks for the fabulous reviews! As luck would have it, I managed to finish this chapter today. Two things before you start. The two titles to each chapter are intentional. One is my version, the other's is Chloe's/ Sophie's. It's just something I am experimenting with. Second, the italicize part is a flashback. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

It's been one week since I joined the turtles. One week since I was turned into a dog. I think I have come to terms with my predicament. It's nice to just roll out of bed and go in the mornings.

Speaking of mornings, I woke up at seven once again to find Donnie missing. He crept out of the room at five. He thought he was being sneaky but the truth was, I heard him. We dogs hear everything. Seeing how he's a ninja, I pretended not to hear him. After all, ninjas pride themselves on being sneaky. I would hate to destroy that.

With a yawn, I rolled out of bed and plopped on the ground. I stretched my body before heading over to a nearby mirror to see if I had bed hair… er, fur. What? I'm still a girl. Satisfied with my appearance, I headed off to the gym.

Every morning, I lay beside Leo and meditate for an hour. Okay, so maybe meditating isn't the right word. I'm technically sleeping. I've tried the whole clearing my mind thing but every time, I end up falling asleep. I sensed Leo enjoyed my presence. Either that or I just wanted to believe he did.

After the hour was up, I went into the kitchen. Leo must have finished as well because he followed me back and started to prepare his breakfast and mine. I found it funny that they never tried to make me eat anymore dog food. I guess they decided to play it safe and stick with Cheerios.

"Leo?" Donnie called as he entered the kitchen. "Have you seen the ground coffee?"  
I snickered as I jumped on the couch. He must have heard me because a moment later, I heard him say, "Sophie."

I peered from around the couch and tried to look innocent.

"Where did you put my ground coffee?" It was a rhetorical question so I didn't answer. No one expects a dog to answer. Besides, I would never tell him where I hid it anyway.

Donnie let out a sigh. "I'm going back to my lab if anyone needs me." He sent me a glare. As he walked off, Raph walked in.

"What's wrong with egghead?"

Grinning, Leo said, "Sophie stole Donnie's coffee."

I could tell Raph was trying hard not to laugh. "Did she get his emergency stash?"

I raised my eyebrows. An emergency stash? Darn!

Well, I knew there was no point trying to find his stash. Knowing Donnie, he would have already moved it to someplace where I couldn't reach it.

Glancing at the clock in the kitchen, I noted it was 8:30. Mikey still hadn't gotten up. It was now time to engage in one of my favorite pastimes.

With an evil grin, I hopped off the couch and slinked upstairs.

As I slipped into his room, I was greeted by loud snoring. It's funny. A week ago, his snoring was annoying. Now, it was almost comforting.

Very quietly, I crept towards his bed. I had to time this perfectly. All of the sudden, a hissing orange blur attacked me. With a shriek, I jumped up on Mikey's bed. Klunk sat below, glaring at me.

"What is your problem?" I asked angrily. "I already told you, I'm not a dog."

"Stop lying, dog." Klunk hissed. "You are evil and I won't let you hurt them."

I sighed. "Seriously, what have I ever done to you? The past is the past. You need to embrace the future. Accept those you are different. See people for who they are."

"Shut up and get off my master's bed before I come up there and make you."

"Hey guys," Mikey said sleepily as he scooped Klunk up with one arm and put his other around my neck. "We're all housemates. Now, how about we all just get along."

"Jerk," I muttered as I shot a glare towards Klunk.

"Satan," Klunk said as he glared back at me.

"That's better," Mikey said happily.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mikey the oblivious one.

* * *

After I recovered from the bedroom incident, I went to the gym to watch the guys practice. I was hoping that if I watched them, I would learn some of their techniques. Halfway through practice, I started to have a headache. As practice progressed, the headache worsened.

Finally, with a growl, I was forced to close my eyes.

_I was my human self strapped to a metal table in a dark room. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape. I heard a whimper off to my right. Glancing in that direction, I found myself staring at… myself. Well, actually, my dog self. _

_She was strapped to a table as well. The look of helplessness in her eyes made me wish I could escape my binds and go to her and comfort her._

_She stopped whining and looked directly at me. Her blue eyes glowed in the dark room. _

"_Don't worry," she whispered, "Everything's going to be alright."_

"Don't worry," I heard Donnie say from far away. "Everything's going to be alright."

"What's wrong with her?" Mikey said frantically. "Is she okay? She's not going to die, is she?"

"It's okay, Mikey," Leo said, "Donnie's got everything under control."

"B-But." There was a smack. "Ow, Raph."

Without thinking, my eyes flew open as my head shot up. My head connected with something causing it to fly backwards and sending me back to the floor.

Glancing up, I saw Donnie sprawled out on the floor. Apparently, I head butted him.

"My sons," Master Splinter said, "I think it would be wise to give them some space."

Leo, Mikey and Raph casually took a few steps back.

Holding his head, Donnie came towards me. As he examined me, my thoughts wandered back to the strange dream. Had it been a memory? A flashback to what happened during those two days? Most importantly, had that dog been real?

* * *

After Donnie gave me a clean bill of health, the guys received a call from April. April and Casey are the turtles' closet human friends. I hadn't met them yet because of conflicting schedules.

Anyway, she had called because her hot water heater broke and she needed Don to fix it.

Mikey and Leo had decided to accompany him which meant I was going to have time to try and bond with Raph.

For the past week, I had been trying to figure out what his interests were. So far as I could tell, his interests were his motorcycle and beating up/destroying stuff.

For someone so passionate and quick to anger, he was very careful when it came to his bike. He would delicately clean and fine tune the bike. I could see why Donnie never stopped Raph from working on his bike. He never lost patience when he was around it.

Since I was a dog there wasn't much I could do with a motorcycle besides chewing on it. I had a feeling that probably wouldn't get me in Raph's good graces. So, I was left with beating up/destroying stuff. Oh, joy.

When I walked into the gym, I saw Raph beating the crud out of a punching bag. As I watched him, a stupid thought occurred in my mind. As Raph took a step back, I charged at the punching bag.

I don't know what I thought when I did this but I guess I was trying to show him how cool I was. Unfortunately, when I hit the punching bag instead of sending it sailing, it sent me sailing backwards into the wall.

Raph stared at me while I got my bearings. I cocked my head at him and he busted out laughing. I mean really laughing. It was almost scary.

As he continued to laugh, I started to get upset. I had to nearly kill myself in order for him to pay attention? Well, forget that. I quit.

After a moment, Raph was able to collect myself. "Ya know? You aren't so bad, Sophie. I almost wish I could bond with ya."

I cocked my head curiously. What did he mean by _almost _bond with me?

Raph sighed and I could almost sense that he was about to tell me something very important.

"I used ta have a dog when I was younger." He laughed, "Yeah, I know. Seems weird but it's true. Master Splinter didn't know but I would sometimes sneak topside when he wasn't lookin'. I found a puppy in an abandoned alley. He was pretty beat up and I decided ta take care of him." He smiled. "I loved that pup. One day though, when I came up ta see him, there were people there. It turned out that his owners had been lookin' for 'im. When they took 'im, he never looked back. Never cared how I felt." He sighed as he looked at me. "And that's why I can't like ya, girl. Because one day, your owners are gonna find you and you'll leave us, not carin' that we might miss ya."

I nuzzled him affectionately, sensing the sadness inside him. He didn't have to worry about me. I wasn't really a dog so no one was looking at me. Besides, I would never just leave them. He may not know it, but all of them had become special to me too.

* * *

That night, we were all gathered around the TV eating popcorn. When no one was looking, I ate half the bowl. I had decided to sit in between Donnie and Mikey since I knew they were the most likely to let me sit on the couch. Leo was disproving at first, but I ignored him. He just had to come to terms that I was no ordinary dog.

During the news, they began to show missing and adopted animals. This was no surprise to me since the local animal shelters were trying to get people to adopt instead of aiding in the puppy mills.

It was the last picture that caught our attention. The picture was of me. An old lady was on the screen saying how she missed her poor Angie and how she was willing to pay a reward for anyone to bring her in. I could already sense Raph tensing up while the others traded glances nervously.

I was surprised as well but not for the same reasons as them. I knew that the dog on the TV wasn't me. It was the dog from my dream. She had been a pet. She had been real.

I knew that the owner could do all the searching she wanted to but she was never going to find that dog. Because, deep down in my gut, I knew that dog was already dead.

* * *

And on that dark note, I'll leave you. Anyway, let me know what you think!


	6. Lost and Found

* * *

Lost and Found

(My Knight in Shining Armor is a Turtle with a Bo Staff)

* * *

L.A.: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. Before I get started I would like to say that moon eclipse shadows and Ted brought up good points I would like to address. Firstly, moon eclipse shadows, I tried to address what you said about her attempts to show she is human in this chapter. Hopefully, it helps. Secondly, Ted, you do bring up a valid point. Raph isn't the type of person who would spill his guts so easily to a person. I figured that since he thinks she was a dog, talking to her was almost like talking to himself. People tend to confide with their pets because the pets never think poorly of them. I'm sorry I didn't explain that last chapter. Don't worry, I am not offended by what you guys said. I love that you gave constructive criticism because it will make me a better writer. As to my other reviewers, thank you so much for your reviews. You guys inspire me to continue writing.

Wow, that is the longest author note I have ever written. I'll stop boring you and let you read.

* * *

Don opted to take me back to my supposed owner. Although I didn't stand a chance against four trained ninjas and their master, I put up a fight anyway. I didn't care if that woman was missing her dog. I wasn't hers. Plus, the whole thing seemed fishy to me.

Why did she wait so long to post my picture up? Why didn't the turtles think it was a trap? Hello, when Donnie found me I was being chased by the Foot. Heh, heh, the foot… Anyway, if she was really worried about me, wouldn't she have flashed my picture a while back? Most importantly, why did I know that the dog from my vision was not named Angie?

I unfortunately lost the battle and before I knew it, Don and I were standing in front of the old lady's door. Don seemed hesitant to knock as if he sensed something was wrong there. I was trying to think of every way possible to show I was a human. Of course, I could walk on two legs, do back flips, and write my name is Chloe and all Donnie would say was 'You must have been a show dog.'

I tell you, it isn't easy being a dog.

"Well," Donnie said, breaking me from my daydreams. "I guess this is goodbye." He bent down to my eye level and rubbed my head affectionately. "You be a good girl, okay?"

I whined as I tried desperately to convey my thoughts to him.

He smiled sadly. "You know, it's something about your eyes but, sometimes, you seem… human."

I nodded my head vigorously. Come on Donnie. You were the smart one. Just continue with that train of thought.

Donnie sighed as he stood up. "Here goes."

My ear drooped. There was no point now. I heard the doorbell rang and glanced up. Donnie was already gone.

Stupid ninja stealth!

The door opened and the old lady from the TV peered down at me. "Oh, look who came home."

All animals, including humans, have the fight or flight instinct. Right now, my instinct was telling me to flee and fast.

Before I could escape, she grabbed my collar. For an old woman, she had a surprisingly strong grip. "Nu-uh, we can't have you leaving so soon." With a yelp, I was pulled into the house. The door slammed shut behind me and I knew that the lady and I weren't alone.

The flight instinct turned to fight as I noticed the shadows were moving on their own. I growled loudly as the shadows transformed into men dressed from head to toe in black. Leading them was none other than Kai

"Well, well," Kai said with a smirk. "It's seems our little pet has returned to us."

I snapped the air as I continued to growl. I wanted nothing more than to rip that smirk right off his face.

"And look at this," he said as he noticed my collar, "it seems you became someone's pet." He reached out to my collar. "Sophie, is it?"

Without thinking, I bit him. The copper tang that filled my mouth meant I had drawn blood. I resisted the urge to retch as I watched him baby his hurt hand. I wasn't about to let my nausea for blood distract me from the problem at hand.

While they were distracted, I took the time to assess my surroundings. I seemed to be in an old abandoned shop. The old woman guarded the door. I had a feeling that I wouldn't have any chance overcoming her. I figured the same thing would happen if I charged through the black clad men. Glancing behind me, I noted the large shop window. I'd rather save that escape route for last.

"If you weren't so important to us, I would have killed you for that," Kai said angrily.

He smirked again, knowing he had my attention. "You are the only specimen to survive our experiments." And what were you trying to prove? That you could turn people into animals? Way to go, I bet you'll win a Nobel prize for sure, you psycho. "We were trying to create a human/animal hybrid," Kai continued. "The perfect weapon against our foes. Not only would they be smart but they would also carry the enhanced abilities that animals have. When injected with animal dna most subjects could not handle it and either died or went insane." He smirked, "Your human mind, however, stayed intact. With a few more tests you could be the perfect specimen." I heard the dangerous tone in his voice. The fight instinct returned to the flight as only one thought screamed in my head.

GET OUT NOW!

Before any of them realized what I was doing, I crashed through the shop window.

In movies, when the action hero crashed through the window, he is able to get up and walk away with barely a scratch. Either I did it wrong or movies lied because that wasn't the case for me.

As I went through the window, the glass cut into my skin. When I landed, I could feel of few the shards still stuck in my skin. I knew I probably looked horrible with all the cuts bleeding on my body. However, now wasn't the time to check and see since the Foot were coming through the window after me.

As I raced down the street, I knew I had to come up with a plan and fast. In my current condition, I could not out run them. I was already in a lot of pain from the window and blood kept running in my eyes. My best bet was to find a place to hide.

As luck would have it, a junkyard loomed off to the left. Without hesitation, I raced into it. Looking around, I noticed a little burrow in the garbage. I quickly dove into it and scooted myself as far back as possible to avoid detection.

Moments later, the Foot appeared.

"Comb the area," I heard Kai say, "with those injuries, she couldn't have gone far."

I held my breath as I watched the Foot search through the area. I really wished Donnie or any of the turtles would come and save me. But, let's face it. This wasn't a fairytale, this was real and it looked like I was going to have to play both hero and damsel.

A pair of feet stopped in front of my hiding spot. I lay very still hoping I wouldn't betray my position. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side. Garbage was pushed away from my hiding spot and I found myself face to face with Kai.

An evil grin appeared on his face. "Hello little doggie."

"Get away from her," Donnie said as he jumped from the shadows, his bo staff raised.

Yep, it's official. Donnie's my knight in shining armor.

I shimmied out of my spot and hid behind Donnie.

"Oh, how cute," Kai said, "The freak adopted the freak." He glanced at his watch and frowned. "Although I'd love to beat you up myself, I have other matters to attend to." He glanced at the other ninjas. "You know what to do."

As he left, the ninjas advanced on us.

"Sophie, stay," Donnie said as he twirled his staff. "I can take care of these guys."

It's not like I didn't have faith in Donnie's ninja skills but he was facing between 20-30 ninjas. I hate to admit it but it looked like the odds were in their favor.

With a yell, Don jumped into the center of the fray. Twirling his staff, he knocked five away. He blocked one of the ninja's sword, twisted it out of his hand and dropped kicked him.

As the fight progressed, I could tell he was weakening. Donnie was a pretty good fighter but there were just too many adversaries to fight.

From out of nowhere, a ninja appeared behind Donnie and wacked him hard with a club. Don went down hard, moaning as he held his head.

Seeing this, I was overcome with feelings of possessiveness and protectiveness.

That was my turtle they were hurting.

And I couldn't…

I wouldn't let them harm another inch on his body.

All the sudden, I was no longer a dog but a human. And, I was completely naked.

I was going to need therapy after this.

I quickly grabbed a holey dirty sack and slipped it over my head like a dress. With a growl, I stepped towards the ninjas. "Leave him alone." The ninja with the sword lowered his weapon as the five left standing looked at me. I guess they were surprised that I was going to fight them.

I smirked. I may not be a ninja but I was a New Yorker. I could bust a few heads if I had to.

With a growl, I charged at them. While I fought, I found myself thinking about stuff that should be odd.

I shouldn't be this strong. I shouldn't be this fast. I shouldn't be this skilled. I should have been scared but I wasn't. A part of my mind accepted that all of this was normal. It was as natural as breathing.

After I took care of them, I turned my attention back to Donnie.

He was unconscious and his head was bleeding sluggishly. It was a minor cut but still I had to take it seriously. I tore a piece of the sack off and put it under his head. It wasn't the greatest bandage but it would have to do for now.

I knew that Donnie kept his shell cell with him. Searching his belt, I finally found it and opened it up. Thank God, Donnie kept his brothers and Master Splinter on speed dial. I quickly pressed the number for Mikey and prayed for him to pick up. After three rings, he picked up.

"Donnie?"

"Mikey, get down to the old junkyard on the west side of the city. Don's hurt. Hurry!" I hung up before he could ask any more questions. I was hoping they would take my call seriously. They may not know who I was but hopefully they would hear the desperation in my voice.

I felt something brush against my leg. Glancing back, I noticed I still had my tail. Apparently, I wasn't as fully human as I thought. My hair was white like my fur had been and my dog ears were perched on top of my head. I winced as I touched them. It was weird being human with ears on top of my head.

A moan alerted me that Donnie was coming to.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.

Donnie frowned in confusion. I mentally slapped myself. How could I forget that he didn't recognize me in my human form?

"Don't worry," I said as I checked his temporary bandage. "The others are coming." Glancing back at him, I noticed his gaze was focused on my neck. Looking down, I saw my tag shining in the dim lighting. His confused gaze turned back to my face.

"Sophie?" His eyes squeezed shut as his face contorted in pain. After a few moments, he passed out, the pain too unbearable.

As if he had uttered the magical word, I had transformed back into a dog.

I growled in frustration as I chucked the sack. Apparently, I returned to a semi human form only short periods of time and under certain circumstances.

A strange scent engulfed my senses as the shadows started to move on their own again. Growling, I stood protectively over Don as a few more Foot ninjas appeared before us.

Luckily, the fates were on our side since Leo, Raph and Mikey chose that moment to appear. They made quick work of the remaining ninjas before turning their attention to us.

"Sophie?" Mikey said in confusion.

Their eyes landed on Donnie. Glancing down, I realized that he had woken up again. Blushing slightly, I got off of him.

"Aw, man, Don. You look terrible," Raph said.

"It's snot that bad," Donnie slurred, "'m fine. Jus' dizzy."

Just dizzy? The turtle got wacked in the head with a club. Judging by his symptoms, he had a major concussion.

"Bro, your speech is slurring," Leo said, his tone worried. "You're not fine."

"Sophie?" Donnie called as he tried to sit up.

"She's fine," Mikey said, "Pretty cut up but fine."

"Don," Leo said, drawing the injured turtle's attention back to him. "Do you remember a girl using your cell shell? The girl told us you were here."

Donnie frowned, trying to remember. "Girl? No…" He winced as his hand went to his head. "Ow."

I let out a sigh. The one chance I had for them to find out who I was and the turtle who knows was suffering from a concussion and memory loss.

* * *

Alright end of another chapter. Geez, Sophie never catches a break does she? Anyway, tell me what you think!


	7. Recovery

Recovering

(Chocolate Withdraw Stinks!)

* * *

L.A.: Hey guys! Once again thank you for the amazing reviews! You guys are awesome! Also, a little tidbit, a grade three concussion occurs when someone loses consciousness. I won't keep you any longer so please enjoy!

* * *

Do you know what one of the downers of being a dog is? You can't eat chocolate. And, I was really craving chocolate.

As if to taunt me, there was a two layer chocolate cake sitting on the kitchen table. None of the turtles would let me near it.

Not only was I cranky from not having chocolate but also, Donnie was driving me up the wall.

The reason why, you ask? Well, he refused to be a patient. Yeah, he had a grade three concussion and he was insisting he should be working in his lab. He was still nauseous and dizzy which means he was likely to fall and bang his head again.

I couldn't allow that to happen since I was the cause of his first concussion. So, I was forced to lie on top of him once more.

This made us both angry at each other. He was angry because I was preventing him from working. I was angry because I wanted to watch the other turtles practice.

As I waited for Donnie to fall asleep, I took the time to examine my injuries. Most of mine hadn't been more than minor cuts. I had a couple that had needed stitching. My left paw suffered the worst. It turned out I had stepped onto a huge shard of glass and it had dug deep into my paw.

It was funny, but it wasn't until Leo pointed it out that I noticed it. When he went to pull it out, I ended up crying bloody murder. I think I passed out at one point because the next thing I knew, my paw was bandaged.

Cocking my head, I heard even slow breathing which indicated Donnie was asleep. Just to be sure, I waited a couple of minutes. Donnie was known for being a good pretend sleeper.

This time, it seemed he really was asleep so I crept out of the room. I had a good hour and a half to two hours before he would wake up so I was going to use the opportunity to stretch my legs.

I winced slightly as I hobbled. Although it was well protected, my paw still hurt when I put weight on it. It really made me wish I could walk on two legs again. Since I didn't want to interrupt the guys training, I decided to snoop around their rooms. I never really got the chance to see the Leo's and Raph's rooms. Originally, I had been afraid to venture in their rooms. After the junkyard incident, both the turtles and their sensei had come to truly accept me as one of them. I think Raph finally realized I wasn't going to just leave them without a second thought. Even Klunk has come to accept me. Well, he still thought I was Satan but now he was not trying to randomly attack me.

The first room I peeked into was Leo's. Talk about a neat freak, the room was spotless. I bet dust was immediately vaporized as soon as it touched the ground.

He had katanas sitting neatly on racks and a couple of books on a bed stand. I tried to read the titles from where I was but I was too far away. I backed out of his room, my curiosity abated. His room was so clean that I was afraid that if I went in, I would leave paw prints.

The next room I went in was Raph's. His room was pretty messy but not as messy as Mikey's. He had weights sitting in a corner and random magazine piles stacked around the room. On one pile was the coolest looking sunglasses I had ever seen. They were black rimmed and looked kind of punkish. Wagging my tail, (I'm not really sure when I picked that habit up) I trotted towards the sunglasses. I just had to put them on. I lowered my head so it was level with the glasses. Carefully, I took my paw and pushed them onto my nose. Once they were secured, I glanced around for a mirror.

Someone cleared their throat behind me and I smelled jalapenos. I stiffened as I turned around. Raph was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. I grinned sheepishly as the sunglasses slipped slightly.

Shaking his head, he said, "You are one weird dog."

I've learned that calling me a weird dog is Raph's way of showing affection so I wagged my tail. A noise from Donnie's room alerted me that Don was up. I growled. Darn! I thought I had more time.

I quickly sped past Raph and went straight for his room. Sure enough, Donnie was getting up. I barked at him before I tackled him. He was sent back into bed with me on top of him.

Donnie groaned. "Come on Sophie! I'm about to die from boredom!" He paused as he frowned. "Are you wearing sunglasses?"

"They're mine," Raph said from the door frame. He looked rather amused. "April and Casey are here. You up for some pizza?"

"Yes," Donnie said, sounding a little too happy. I think he was going to take any chance he could get to get out of bed. Since his brothers and sensei did not seem worried I decided to let him go. The idea of pizza sounded really good. It might get my mind off the chocolate cake. Darn chocolate!

I followed the turtles to the sitting room. April O'Neal, a young red head, immediately noticed Donnie. She quickly went and examined his head, making quite a fuss. Donnie was bright red as he shifted from one foot to the other. Hm, it seemed he might have a crush on her.

Casey Jones, a muscular blue haired man, was sitting in a chair. He gave me a double take as I walked by. "Bro," he said turning his attention towards Raph. "I think I might be losin' it. I thought I just saw a dog wearin' sunglasses walk by."

"Oh, that's just Sophie," Raph said nonchalantly.

"Oh," Casey frowned, "Wait, that's normal?"

"Normal for her."

April finally noticed me. "Aw," she said as she rubbed my head. "So, this is the famous Sophie. She's cute." Her lips quirked. "Is she wearing sunglasses?"

"She stole them from Raph," Don said.

And I was planning on keeping them. I caught a glimpse in a passing mirror and I thought I looked pretty awesome.

Mikey was busy picking up a slice of pizza. I went and sat in front of him, letting out a whine. Mikey sighed. "Aw, here ya go!" He gave me half of his pizza.

"Mikey," Leo said with a frown, "You shouldn't give her too much people food."

"She'll be fine," Mikey said as he rubbed my head. "She's got as big of an appetite as mine."

Glancing over at Master Splinter, I noticed he was calmly drinking green tea. I could understand his choice. If I weren't a dog, I probably would have gotten tired with the amount of pizza the turtles ate.

* * *

As the night progressed, I found that if I were human, April and I would have gotten along well. She seemed to have the same interests as me. Although their conversation was entertaining, I found my mind wandering back to the conversation I had with Kai.

I had been trying not to think about it for awhile but it just kept bugging me. Why did they choose me for the experiment? Why a dog? If they wanted to create a super soldier wouldn't they use DNA from a wolf or a bear? Most importantly, why did I survive?

I felt as if a part of me knew the answer. The sound of laughter brought me out of my revelries. There was no point obsessing over the unknown. I had people who cared for me and a warm safe home. That was what was important.

Plus, the chocolate cake was looking really good now.

Leo noticed my gaze. He calmly got up, grabbed the cake, and put it in the refrigerator.

I let out a groan as I covered my eyes with my paws. I really missed chocolate.

* * *

This was sort of a filler chapter still I hope it will be interesting. It will probably be a couple of days before I put up another chapter. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	8. Another Side Another Story

Another Side Another Story

(How Lindsey got Pulled into this Mess as Well)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here's the new chapter! This chapter is about Chloe's best friend Lindsey. You guys remember Lindsey, right? Well, I figured she would have to have some part in this story. Kudos to anyone who knows where the first title of this chapter comes from.

Also, on a side note, the other day when I went running a black lab decided to accompany me. It ran with me on my twenty minute run and followed me home as if I were its owner. It kind of reminded me of Sophie which creeped me out. Don't worry, after I gave it water, the owners came up and brought him home. Still…creepy…

Anyway, on with the chapter!

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Chloe had gone missing. Two weeks since that ill fated night when she left her best friend with a total stranger. How could she have been so stupid? Why had she allowed herself to get distracted and miss them leaving the dance floor?

All of this had been running through Lindsey Stones' head. The guilt was eating her from the inside out. It was like a festering wound that never seemed to heal.

Her parents had hinted that she might want to consider counseling since this seemed to be affecting her so much which of course, she flat out refused.

Counseling wasn't going to bring Chloe back. Sitting in a little room expressing her feelings wasn't going to aide in the search for Chloe. No, action was needed for both Chloe's and her sake.

Lindsey had always been a girl of action. If something bothered her, she would hit the gym. If she couldn't do that, then she would re-arrange her room. As long as she was doing something, she was fine. Whatever she was doing would distract long enough that whatever was bothering her would simply go away.

Which was why Lindsey found herself standing in front of Central Park at ten at night. She knew what she was doing was both dangerous and stupid; however, she felt she didn't have a choice in the matter. It was the last place she hand't looked. She didn't have time that day to search and she didn't think she would have a chance the next day. Her parents were becoming suspicious of her 'outings'. 

Checking her purse, she made sure her taser was easily accessible. She silently thanked her dad for insisting on getting her one. It made this a little easier. Only just a little though.

With a sigh, she walked into Central Park. All her years living in New York, she had never dared to enter Central Park at night. The horror stories she had heard kept her as far away as possible from it.

Stepping into Central Park at night was like stepping into another world. A shadow world to be exact. The trees created strange and deformed shadows. Any of them could hide a drug dealer, a rapist, a murderer, an unconscious best friend…

A commotion from up ahead dragged her out of her thoughts. It took her a moment before she realized that it was coming towards her.

Panicking, she looked frantically around for a place to hide. A large bush nearby looked promising so without thinking she dove into it.

A part of her mind chastised her for her overreaction. She had no idea what was going on. For all she knew, it could just be a squirrel.

She held her breath as a figure ran towards her. It took her a moment to realize that it was a man. He had shaggy brown hair and wore glasses over his brown eyes. He wore a white laboratory coat. With a yell he tripped and fell. He curled up where he fell groaning slightly.

Lindsey was about to go help him when a few more figures emerged from the shadows all clad from head to toe in black. Before she could stop it, a gasp escaped her throat.

Standing before them was Kai.

He smirked at the man that lay before him. "Now, now, Professor Marcus. Why are you running?"

Professor Marcus glared at him. "You know why. What we are doing is not only morally unethical, it's wrong."

Kai shook his head. "Seriously professor, I thought that a scientist of your caliber would understand that in experimentation you sometimes have to bend rules."

"These aren't just rules," the professor said, "we're messing with nature itself. This species you want us to create is not meant to exist. Introducing it into our environment could be disastrous to our ecosystem. It could even disrupt the fragile balance of the world!"

Lindsey frowned. What in the world had she stumbled into?

Kai smiled. "That is a risk we are willing to take."

Professor Marcus shook his head. "No, that is a risk _you_ are willing to take. I'm out. I no longer want to be a part of this."

Kai sighed. "My dear professor, you seem to think you have a choice in the matter."The professor started as two of the black men appeared on each side of him and grabbed his arms. "The truth of the matter is, we own you. And, whether you like it or not, you will do as I say."

The professor glared again as he tried to get away from his captors. "I work for Mistress Karai not you. I will tell her what you are doing."

"Mistress Karai won't know anything," Kai said, his grin looking more sinister. "Especially since she will believe that you are on a vacation… a very long vacation." The professor yelled angrily as he was dragged away. "Take him to the master," Kai said, "He'll know what to do with him."

As Lindsey watched the poor man be dragged away, she felt herself begin to hyperventilate. _Oh no! Oh no! What did I get myself into?_ She took a deep breath to calm herself down. _I've just got to wait till they leave. When they do, I'll go straight to the police._

Kai stopped in the middle of his tracks and turned to stare straight at her. Her heart stopped for a minute. _Please don't let him see me!_

Something moved behind her. Whirling around, she came face to face with a man dressed in black.

"Looks like we have a little spy," The man said. With one swift movement, she pulled out her taser and zapped him with it. The man crumpled like a leaf. With the taser still in hand, she bolted deeper into Central Park.

She was no longer thinking logically at this point. All that ran through her mind was: Run! Escape!

Because of this, it was no surprise that she got completely lost. At night time, there were no distinguishable landmarks to help her figure out where to go. Everything was foreign and terrifying.

Out of nowhere, a man clad in black came flying at her. She held up her taser but he merely knocked it out of her hand before slapping her across the face.

She immediately fell to the ground, blindly looking for her taser. The man put a foot on her back before turning towards the others who were walking up. "What should we do with her?"

Kai bent down to get a better look at her. "I know you."

She spat in his face.

Disgusted, Kai wiped his face with his hand as he stood up. "Yes, I know you. You were with my dear Chloe although I remember you being a lot more polite."

"Go get run over by a bus," Lindsey said angrily.

Kai smirked. "No thanks, I'm far too busy for that." He turned his attention to the man holding her down. "Take her back with us. She could be a good test subject." He turned around and vanished into the night with a couple others.

Lindsey knew she was in trouble then. She was in a secluded part of Central Park in the dead of night. She could scream and holler all she wanted to but no one would hear her.

_God, please help me,_ she thought as tears began to well up in her eyes. _Please let this be a bad dream._

All of the sudden, the weight on her back was gone. Turning around, she saw the men clad in black were fighting two figures.

"Are you alright?" a figure similar to the others asked. In the dim lighting, it looked as if he had swords tied to his back.

"Yeah," she said as she accepted his hand to help her up. She frowned. Did this guy have three fingers?

Before she could be sure, the figure withdrew his hand.

"Stay here," the figure said, "We'll take care of them."

And take care of them, they did. Within minutes, the three figures incapacitated the men in black.

As they turned to face her, she was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. The trauma of what she had experienced seemed to cause her brain to shut down. As she fell to the ground, she could have sworn that the three figures were human size turtles.

"Now I know I'm dreaming," she murmured as her eyes fluttered close. "Human sized turtles? Yeah right."

* * *

Raph, Leo and Mikey stared down at the unconscious girl before them in silence.

"So," Mikey said after a minute, "What are we going to do now?"

* * *

L.A.: Anyway, that's the end of this chapter. Don't worry, I know I didn't mention Donnie or Sophie being there. There is a reason. Let me know what you thought!


	9. A Discussion of Dogs

A Discussion of Dogs  
(What Donnie and Sophie did while the Turtles were Away)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter of In the Doghouse. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!

* * *

_The soft sound of a music box's melody caused me to open my eyes. I was human again and I was in an animal shelter. It looked rather old and was in need of repairs. Dogs were sleeping in their cages, content with the sound of the music box playing. I felt a breeze beside me and knew someone was there._

_My dog self was sitting beside me, her gaze focused on the room. Without looking at me, she said. "This is home."_

_A little husky puppy whined in his sleep as his back leg twitched. A Kuvasz was sprawled out in his cage. His tail thumped as his eyes opened for a minute to check and make sure everything was still alright before going back to sleep. I couldn't help but grin at the dog's protective behavior. Glancing at the counter, I spotted the music box. It was a little silver dog spinning around. It seemed to be a symbol to the dogs that someone cared for them and that they were safe. _

_After a minute, the song ended and the music box closed itself up._

"_This," my dog self said still staring ahead, "is life."_

_A pair of headlights shone through the glass window. A van crashed through it and stopped in the middle of the shelter. The Foot poured out of the van and entered the shelter. Most of the cages had been knocked open by the crash allowing the dogs to escape. _

_The Kuvasz growled at the intruders and charged at them with teeth bared. He was shocked by a taser and fell to the ground with a crash._

"_This one could prove useful," the man who tased the dog said as he bent down to examine him. "We're taking this one with us!"_

_As they dragged the unconscious Kuvasz into the van a little figure tried to hobble away from the intruders. The little husky puppy whimpered slightly as it favored its right front paw._

_The sound alerted the Foot that there was another. They laughed as they approached the defenseless puppy._

_All the sudden, my dog self was part of the scene. She raced towards the intruders biting one on the arm. She brought his arm down knocking him into the other ninja and sending them to the ground._

_She nudged the little puppy away from them, keeping herself between the puppy and the ninjas. The little husky licked her nose before running to hide behind the counter._

_A figure emerged from behind the van and I found myself gasping. It was none other than Kai._

_He studied the growling dog before him. "She shows strong protective instincts, courage, and seems highly intelligent. She could prove very useful for our experiments."_

_I wanted to do something, anything to help her but I found that my feet were rooted to the ground._

_One of the ninjas reached for her and she quickly snapped at him. He quickly pulled his hand away, eyeing the dog warily._

_Kai laughed as he grabbed the taser from one of his fellow ninjas. "She even has spirit. She's perfect."_

_The last words rang in my ears as the dog lunged at Kai. The taser connected with her body sending her crumpling to the ground. _

"_Grab her," Kai said, "The cops will be here any minute."_

_As the ninjas grabbed the unconscious dog and carried her to the van, the little husky stepped out of his hiding spot, whining. "Come back Sarafina!" the puppy said in a helpless child like voice. "Come back!"_

_As I watched the van pull out of the shelter and the dogs retreating from their hiding spots in a state of confusion, I was dimly aware that the music box was playing again._

* * *

With a slight yelp, I woke up. Glancing around, I found myself in Donnie's lab still a dog. Panting heavily, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. It was just a dream. Yet, as those words ran through my head, I knew that it was wrong. It had been more like a memory. But, that was impossible! I had never seen that. I knew that it wasn't my memory.

_Of course it isn't,_ said a little voice in the back of my head. _It belongs to the dog._

The dog? The memory belonged to the dog who's DNA was now infused with mine? Was it possible to have memories that belonged to another?

"Are you okay, girl?" Donnie asked, looking down at me in concern.

I wagged my tail as Donnie patted my head. These thoughts I was having were a little scary and I didn't think I was ready to handle them.

After he finished petting me, he went back to whatever he had been working on. It's rather cute but ever since the junkyard incident, Donnie was been trying to pay more attention to me. He was having a hard time since he tended to go off into his own little world when he was working on projects but at least now he noticed when I left or entered the room.

The lair was really quiet but that was because the other brothers had gone out for their night run. Donnie wasn't allowed to go since his concussion had not fully healed. I would have gone with them if I wasn't so sure I would end up killing myself from jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

I hadn't seen Master Splinter since the others left. My guess was that he was in his room meditating and enjoying the quiet.

I listened to Donnie's tinkering as I lay back down. The sound was comforting similar to how the music box was comforting to the dogs. I scrunched my nose in annoyance. Without even intended to, my mind had gone back to the dream.

Why had a Kuvasz been in the shelter? Kuvasz were sheep dogs who would take a bullet for their master and guard their sheep from wolves. They were not city dogs.

I smirked slightly as I thought of the Kuvasz's personality. The Kuvasz kind of reminded me of Leo. In fact, if Leo were brought back as a dog, I bet that would be the exact dog.

Amused with this train of thought, I decided to think of what dogs the other turtles would be. I think Raph would be a pit bull. Pit bulls were very passionate and willing to fight anyone or anything. They even had a tough appearance about them. The dog, like Raph, I felt was often misjudged. The truth was that if you could look past the tough front they put up, you would see that they were loyal and caring. That was Raph in a nutshell.

Mikey would definitely be an affenpinscher. Also known as the monkey terrier, the dog was considered a comedic and always wanted to be the center of attention. As we all knew, Mikey loved to be the center of attention.

As for Donnie, I guess he would be a Belgian Malinois. The Belgian Malinois was considered one of the smartest dogs and ad a great need of mental and physical stimulation. If confined, they would spin around in circles in order to stay moving. From experience, I knew that Donnie hated to be confined. Like the Malinois, he needed mental and physical stimulation as well.

So, what was I? I frowned as I trotted over to a piece a metal lying nearby and looked at my reflection. If you asked me two week ago, what dog I thought I would come back as after I died, this one would definitely not be it. I would guess maybe a golden retriever or something. Now, as I gazed at my reflection, it seemed strange but the dog that I saw before me seemed to fit.

If what I saw in my dream was true, then she would be my first choice in dog. I scrunched my nose as I tried to remember the name of the dog.

Sarafina.

It was an odd name but it seemed to fit. I may not know much about this dog but I had a feeling I was going to find out.

* * *

If you are curious, I got the dogs from both animal planet and the AKC book so if you wish to look them up, they'll be in there. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	10. New Comer to the Lair

A New Comer to the Lair

(Things are Going to Get Interesting)

* * *

L.A.: Sorry for the delay! Here's the next chapter!

* * *

A loud noise downstairs alerted me that they other guys were back.

"Donnie!" Raph yelled, "We need ya down here!"

Don and I traded confused glances before heading downstairs. The guys were crowded around the couch staring at something.

"I think she's dead," Mikey said, "She hasn't moved in an hour." Raph wacked him upside the head.

"She just past out ya numbskull!"

"Who passed out?" Master Splinter asked as he came from his room. Leo, Mikey and Raph froze as they turned towards him sheepishly.

"Well, sensei," Leo began, "we were out on our run when we spotted the Foot entering Central Park."

"They were chasing this girl," Mikey added, "we had to save her."

They stepped aside and I let out a gasp.

My best friend Lindsey lay unconscious on the sofa.

"Lindsey!" I said as I ran up to her. "Oh my gosh! Don't be dead! I have so much to tell you! Wake up woman!"

"I think Sophie's gone mental," Raph remarked.

"Come on, Sophie" Donnie said as he grabbed my collar and started to drag me away from Lindsey.

I glared at him. "That is my best friend! I need to stay with her!"

Donnie looked at me in confusion.

I howled. "Not having anyone understand me sucks!"

Lindsey muttered in her sleep. "I am going to kill Ms. Nancy's dog."

Ms. Nancy was a little old lady who lived in the apartment next to Lindsey. She was sweet as can be and completely deaf. This was probably fortunate for her since her little Yorkshire terrier barks nonstop. I am dead serious. Any little noise sets the dog off. It's a wonder that it isn't horse.

Anyway, most of the neighbors have attempted to try and talk with Ms. Nancy about her dog but the old lady's so sweet that you feel bad. She never lets her dog out but if she did, I bet about half the neighbors would be waiting outside to shoot it.

Now, as a dog, I'm rather curious as to what he says. If he is attempting to actually have a conversation with the deaf old lady then maybe I could forgive him.

After muttering for a couple more moments, Lindsey opened her eyes. Unfortunately, Leo, Raph and Mikey seemed to not think of how she would react to three mutant talking turtles hovering above her. She quickly remedied that problem.

"Get back!" Lindsey said as she wiped out a can of pepper spray from her pocket and aimed it at them.

Good old Lindsey, always prepared. I wonder if she still had her taser?

Mikey let out a girlish scream as he scrambled away from her. "AH! She's got pepper spray!"

"Aw, shell," Raph said as Leo and he backed away.

"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm _so_ dreaming," Lindsey said as her hands shook.

"Look," Leo said as he held up his hands in defense. "We're not going to hurt you. Honest!"

Lindsey lowered her pepper spray a fraction of an inch. "I remember you…"

"Please, miss" Master Splinter said from behind her. "If you would calm down, we could explain everything."

Lindsey spun around and saw Donnie, Master Splinter, and me. When her eyes landed on Master Splinter, she promptly passed out.

"You do have a way with women, sensei," Donnie said as he cautiously approached Lindsey.

I glared at Donnie. I didn't pass out when I saw Master Splinter. Did that make me less of a woman? Then again, when you get turned into a dog, I guess your mind just accepts that anything is possible.

"Can we get the pepper spray away from her?" Mikey asked, "Preferably before we get sprayed!"

After a few minutes, they were able to rouse Lindsey with a cup of tea. It took her a little bit, but she finally accepted them.

"Sorry about before," Lindsey said sheepishly, "I was a tad scared."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "A tad?"

Mikey pointed an accusing finger. "You tried to spray me with pepper spray."

Raph whacked him in the back of the head. "Rule 1: Ignore Mikey. Your life is a lot easier that way."

Mikey stuck his tongue out at him.

Seizing the opportunity, I walked over to Lindsey and barked at her. Lindsey looked down at me in confusion.

"Come on, Lindsey," I whined. "You're my best friend. If anyone can see me in this dog body, you can."

A smile broke out on her face as she patted my head. "What a cute dog. What's her name?"

I nearly fell over. Well, that was a bust.

"Her name's Sophie," Donnie said as he motioned me over to him. "We found her a few weeks back." I slunk towards him and sat at his feet.

"Why were the Foot after you?" Leo asked.

Lindsey frowned. "The Foot?"

"The people in black," Mikey said, "You remember?"

Lindsey remembered and she thus recounted all the events that led up to her being here. I couldn't believe she had been searching for me all these weeks. Then again, Lindsey was never the type of person to just sit around and do nothing.

"Oh," Lindsey said, her eyes brightening, "maybe you guys have seen Chloe."

The guys traded uneasy glances. I didn't blame them. They couldn't have possibly seen me…well, in my human form.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Leo asked.

Lindsey sighed. "No…but if you have a laptop I could bring up a picture of her."

All eyes turned to Donnie who looked extremely uncomfortable with the idea of lending someone his laptop. Being the computer geek that he was, he was probably afraid that she would hack into all of his files and delete them.

After a moment, he sighed. "Fine, just give me a minute." He went to get his laptop from the lab. Five minutes later, he returned.

I hopped up on the sofa to see what Lindsey was doing. She immediately went on the internet and accessed her facebook page. She quickly pulled out a picture from her album.

"This is Chloe."

It was a picture of us at the Museum of Natural History and…

"I hate this picture!" I said. "What the heck! I told you to take it down! I look fat! What kind of friend are you? Gah!"

Raph lightly shoved me off the couch. "Calm down Sophie!"

As the others looked at the picture, I glanced up at Donnie to see that he had a strange look on his face. I didn't take my eyes off of him. Did he possibly remember what happened in the junkyard?

He looked at me with confusion in his eyes then back to the picture. After a moment, he looked back at me and said. "Chloe?"

I wagged my tail. Things just got interesting.

* * *

L.A.: Hmm, it seems that Donnie might have figured it out. Well, tell me what you think!


	11. Talk in the Sewers

Talk in the Sewers

(Don Comes up with a Brilliant Idea)

* * *

L.A.: Here's the next chapter. Also, I do not know what new inventions the US Military have come up with. This is totally made up.

* * *

It seemed the wag convinced Don of something since his eyes widened as he said, "Oh, shell."

"What's wrong, Don?" Leo asked.

I cocked my head, grinning at Donnie's discomfort.

"Uh, nothing," Donnie grinned guiltily. "I'm going for a walk…with Sophie." He motioned me to follow him as he waved to his brothers and Lindsey, "See you!"

I ignored the confused stares as I followed him out. We walked a little ways into the sewers before he turned towards me.

"I'm nuts," Donnie said as he rubbed his forehead. "This concussion must have rewired my brain. This can't be possible."

I growled. "Come on Don. Don't tell me that you brought me out here just to say that."

With a sigh, Don squated down so that he was level with me. "If you are Chloe, nod your head."

I nodded.

Donnie stood back up, crossed his arms and studied me for a moment. "Someone could have taught you to nod." I rolled my eyes. "Okay sit on your hunches and place your left paw on your nose while raising your right paw."

I did as he instructed.

"Okay now…"

"Don," I growled, "Enough already. I'm Chloe."

He looked stunned. "Alright, you're right. I guess you are really Chloe." He winced. "Aw shell, sorry about trying to make you eat dog food and sticking a thermometer up your rear…"

WHAT!

"Oh," Donnie said when he saw my reaction. "I guess you didn't know about that…never mind."

When I got opposable fingers again I was going to wring his neck.

"So, Chloe," He said awkwardly. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Right, you would have told us if you could." He sighed. "This communication barrier could be problem." He glanced back towards the lair. "And I can't tell the others."

I nodded. Donnie had a concussion so if he told them, they might think it was a product of it. Plus, as selfish as it may seem, a part of me was afraid for them to know. I felt as if I finally had a family. Lindsey and her family had seemed like relatives to me but not my immediate family.

The turtles, Master Splinter, the lair, that was my immediate family. It was strange that I felt this way after two weeks but it was true.

Also, as a dog, you get to see people differently. There are no false pretenses maintained around pets since they didn't think poorly of your faults. When you're human, it's different. Already, I could see a change in Donnie. He was closing himself up, becoming shy.

I still wanted to be thought of as Sophie, the dog, the friend.

Not Chloe, the human, the stranger.

Donnie was lost in thought so I bumped his hand. I whined trying to tell him what I was feeling. Strangely enough, he must have understood me since he patted my head and said. "It's okay girl er Chloe. You've seen us at our worst and still seem to like us. Just because you're really human doesn't mean I won't like you. You're still my friend." He smirked. "But you can't sleep in my bed anymore."

I nodded. I figured as much. Smiling up at him, I said "Thanks Don."

Don frowned. "Okay, we really need to fix the communication problem."

I sighed. He understands my feelings but can't figure out a thank you.

"You know," He said as he tapped his chin. "When I hacked into the US military…" He trailed off when he saw my expression. "I mean what I heard from the US military is that they were working on a portable device that would automatically translate one language to another. It utilizes sonar waves to recognize the inflections, words, and tones in one language and incorporates it into a miniature computer. The computer runs the information through its database before relaying it out to its recipient." He smiled. "I bet I could configure one for you to wear. Would you like that?"

I was so excited that I tackled and hugged him.

Donnie was blushing furiously. "Uh, I'll take that as a yes." He glanced back towards the lair. "I guess we should head back. They're probably wondering where we are."

I quickly got off of him and followed him back.

Mikey was the first to notice us. "Great timing Don. Sensei was about to tell Lindsey how we were created."

"Oh, okay," Don said reluctantly. He looked longingly at his lab before coming to sit down with the rest of us.

I tried to listen to the story but my mind was elsewhere. I was finally going to be able to speak and people could understand me. I frowned. Did Master Splinter say something about ooze? I didn't have time to figure it out since he was introducing the guys.

"Leonardo," Master Splinter said.

"Nice to meet you," Leo said.

"Raphael."

"'Sup," Raph said with a slight wave.

"Donatello."

"Huh?" Donnie said as he looked up from the paper he was doodling on. "Oh yeah, that's me." He went back to his designs.

"And Michelangelo," Master Splinter finished.

"All the good ones end in o" Mikey said with a cheeky grin.

Raph lunged at him but he jumped away laughing.

With a growl, Raph chased after him.

Seeing Lindsey's bewildered expression, I shook my head.

Poor girl, she had no idea what she was getting into.

* * *

It seems Chloe is one step closer to her goal. Also, I am going back to school next week so I will be updated less frequently. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	12. The Translator

The Translator

(Donnie's Device Looks Really Weird)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! I figured I would get one more chapter in before school started. 54Viruses I totally agree with you. School is evil. Anyway, thanks again for all of your glorious reviews. They make me so happy!

* * *

It took Donnie a week in order to complete the translator. Of course, he probably would have gotten it done sooner if I hadn't kept forcing him to bed and stealing his coffee. He finally got so fed up with me that he shoved me out of his lab and locked the door behind me.

I sat in front of the door, taking a moment to adjust to the dimmer lighting.

"Aw, Sophie, did Don kick you out of his lab again?"

I glanced up to see Mikey sitting on the sofa looking at me. Raph was sitting in the chair beside him, looking amused.

I barked to let him know that it was a yes.

Mikey grinned. "Why don't you come sit with me." He patted the spot next to him. I shrugged. I had nothing better to do. I trotted over to them and hopped up on the sofa.

I know Lindsey came over an hour ago and knowing her, she was with Leo in the dojo. She and I share the same fascination with swords so naturally she went bug eyed when she saw Leo's katanas. They were probably there now discussing different swords.

Mikey grabbed the remote and started to flip through channels. He stopped on one channel and my ears perked up. It was the Gilmore Girls, my favorite show. As luck would have it, it was one I hadn't seen yet.

Mikey and Raph wrinkled their noses in displeasure.

"Mikey," Raph said, "Change the channel already."

Panicked, I grabbed the remote out of Mikey's hand and lay on top of it.

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Sophie?" He reached towards the remote and I growled at him. Mikey looked at Raph, helplessly.

Raph sighed. "Sophie, hand it over." He was about to get up and I growled again. He sat back down and looked uncomfortable.

I snickered slightly as I turned my attention to the TV.

"Oh," Master Splinter said as he approached us. "Gilmore Girls, One of my favorite shows."

Mikey and Raph groaned.

* * *

It was towards evening when Donnie left his lab. He was tired but he had a triumphant look on his face. He looked around the room to make sure no one else was there before he turned his attention to me. "Guess what, Chloe. I've finished a portable translator." He pulled out from behind him the device. "Tada!"

I cocked my head to one side and raised an eyebrow. The portable translator looked like some sort of golden headband that wrapped around the forehead. In the center of it was a strange glass glowing orb.

Donnie sighed. "Yeah, I know it looks weird but if someone hadn't kept bugging me then maybe I would have come up with something more creative."

I grinned sheepishly.

Donnie motioned me towards him. "Come here so we can try this out."

I obeyed and he bent down to attach the translator on my head. I heard a snap and he stood back up.

I looked up at him and he said, "Okay, say something."

"Hello?" I said timidly. I was speaking English but it sounded as if I had inhaled a ton of helium. "Ick! I sound like a chipmunk!"

Donnie winced. "Hold on, I'll adjust it." He grabbed a screw driver and fiddled with the glass orb on my head. After a moment, he stood back up. "Okay, is it fine now?"

"Fine," I said, my voice extremely low. "If I were a man."

"Well, you don't have to get sarcastic about it." Donnie said as he fiddled with the orb once more. "Alright, third time's a charm."

I took a deep breath, hoping my voice would sound better. "Testing, testing, one, two, three." My eyes widened as I recognized the voice. "Oh my gosh! That's my voice! Donnie you did it."

Donnie beamed. "What can I say, I'm a turtle of many talents."

I grinned. "You are the turtle. Take a bow."

Donnie grinned as well as he bowed. "Thank you, Thank you. No applause."

"Uh, Don?" Leo said as Don and I froze. "What are you doing?"

Lindsey stood behind him looking highly amused.

Donnie stiffened up as he stood up. "Uh, I dropped my screw driver." Leo glanced at the table beside Donnie. Donnie looked towards his right and laughed. "Well, what do you know? It's right here." He grabbed it and started to walk away. "I'll just go back to my lab now."

"Uh," Lindsey said as she stared at me. "What's on Sophie's forehead?"

Donnie shifted from one foot to the other. "It's just an experiment. Nothing to worry about. Okay, bye."

Before anyone could say another word, Donnie was in his lab shutting the door after him.

Lindsey and Leo stared after him.

"Should we be worried about him?" Lindsey asked.

Leo shrugged. "I have no idea what's gotten into him lately."

They turned to each other and I felt as if I were a ghost to them.

"So uh, I guess we'll see you tomorrow." Leo said, his expression neutral once more. I sensed he was trying to hide something.

"Yeah," Lindsey said shifting from one foot to the other. "It's fun talking about swords with you."

I raised an eyebrow. What's going on with them?

They turned their attention towards me. I wagged my tail trying to look oblivious. I got the distinct feeling that they didn't want me there.

With a grin, I walked towards Donnie's lab. Whether they liked it or not, I was going to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

L.A.: Sorry, for the short chapter. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	13. Complications

Complications

(Donnie Hates Bohemian Rhapsody)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! I'm back in school, blah but I have a new chapter for you. A couple of you asked why they haven't told the others yet. Hopefully, this will help you understand what they are going through. By the way, I found the lyrics on a site so if they are exactly the same, just bare with me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

edit: Hey! I re-did part of this chapter. I (the reviewer) don't worry I do not get angry at constructive criticism especially when I feel it is valid. Personally, I think that it will only make me a better author. I looked back and you were right so I tried to add more. Sometimes, I have the stuff on my head but forget to actually put it down on paper so never feel bad for telling me. As long as it makes sense then I will take it in to consideration. Now, if you said something like "This story sucks! She should be an opossum not a dog!" then I might get annoyed.

But, other than that, I'm pretty easy going.

So, I'm going to stop yapping and let you guys read. You don't have to review again if you don't want to but it would be nice to know if it is better now.

* * *

I'm not sure why Donnie and I didn't tell anyone. We both never seemed to get around to telling them. It was like an unspoken agreement between us that we weren't even sure why we agreed to it in the first place.

I couldn't understand what I was thinking. I mean, I wanted people to know I could talk but for some reason a fear would well up inside me and I would keep myself quiet. What was wrong with me? I didn't want to be a dog anymore…didn't I?

I was pretty sure part of the reason why I didn't tell them was because I was afraid they would treat me different. I mean, as I said before, being a dog allows you to see someone's true character. There are no pretenses. No metaphorical masks.

Things will be different when I was human again. I already knew that. I guess there was a selfish part of me that just didn't want to let this go. It wanted things to stay as it is. So, maybe it was why I tried to find ways to delay it.

Also, I was pretty sure I was afraid of going back to the surface. It's stupid, I know, but a part of me was terrified to face New York again. I guess it's like the person who's been mugged the first time. Nothing looks the same after that. Every shadow looks like a potential threat. Every person an enemy.

And what was with Donnie? He could have told them multiple times when they asked what was on my head but instead he would make up some excuse. He seemed to be confused about this himself. Did a part of him not want to lose the closeness we shared? That was ridiculous. So, why didn't he tell them? Didn't he want me to be human again and be reunited with Lindsey?

Why the heck are sentient beings so complicated?

Since I was limited to who I could talk to, I found myself once again in Donnie's lab. And, once again, he was in his own little world remodeling Raph's bike.

"I see a little silhouetto of a man. Scaramouche, scaramouche will you do the fandango. Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me."

Donnie's eye twitched.

"Galileo,galileo, Galileo galileo Galileo figaro-magnifico. I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me. He's just a poor boy from a poor family. Spare him his life from this monstrosity."

Donnie tapped his pencil angrily as he tried to concentrate on his designs.

"Easy come easy go, will you let me go. Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. Let him go. Bismillah! We will not let you go. Let him go. Bismillah! We will not let you go. Let me go. Will not let you go. Let me go. Will not let you go. Let me go."

Donnie let out a frustrated growl.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go. Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me."

He turned around and glared at me.

Smiling innocently, I said. "Was I disturbing you?"

Before I realized what was happening, I was outside Donnie's lab once more as the door shut behind me. I let out sigh as I trotted towards the den. Mikey was in the middle of a video game. His tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth as his fingers zoomed across the controllers. I let out sigh as I stared longingly at the video console. I used to like playing video games with Lindsey's younger brother.

"_You know," _A little voice in the back of my head said, _"You could do it again if you just told them. Just speak. That's all you have to do. Tell them that you're Chloe and you'll be on your way back to being human."_

I opened my mouth to tell Mikey. I was going to tell him I was Chloe. There was only one problem. Nothing came out of my mouth.

Why was this so complicated?

Klunk peered from behind the couch. "What are you doing?"

I sighed. "I'm not sure anymore." A little interesting tidbit, I learned. Apparently when I speak to animals I go back to speaking in dog. Donnie said it had something to do with my subconscious. He also said a lot of other stuff but I kind of tuned him out since it was jibberish to me. He then got angry at my lack of interest in the matter and threw me out of his lab.

Is anyone else seeing a pattern here?

"You know, just because you saved one of my masters doesn't mean I trust you." Klunk said as he narrowed his eyes to slits. "I'm still keeping my eye on you."

Great, I was being stalked by a paranoid cat.

I rolled my eyes. "Klunk, I'm not a spy." I began to walk away.

"You better not be because I've watched my masters train. I can ninja kick your butt if I have to."

"Dream on kitty," I said as I turned the corner.

Now that I was approaching the dojo, I focused all my attention on being sneaky. I knew Leo and Lindsey were in there and I was hoping to try and see what was going on. Luckily for me, the door was open. I crept in and found them…practicing with the swords.

I was partially disappointed and partially relieved. I really wanted to have blackmail on Lindsey when (more like if it now seems like) I became human again but it was weird to think those two had a thing. I mean Leo and Lindsey? It would be like my best friend dating my brother.

Just too weird.

With a sigh, I lay down on the floor while I watched Leo teach Lindsey the proper technique to holding a katana.

Leo really was a great teacher. He was very patient and willing to go over the instructions until she had it down path. I guess it didn't surprise me since he is the leader. He bears a lot of responsibility and his brothers look up to him. It must be tough being leader but he handled it with grace and character. That was very rare to see in a leader.

If he ever ran for president, he would have my vote. I snickered at the image of Leo in the White House. It was rather amusing.

* * *

Dinner soon came around and we all gathered around the table to eat. Casey and April came bringing food with them. The tantalizing aromas were about to kill me. _I'm so hungry,_ I thought as I stared up at Mikey with my best pathetic look.

Mikey froze in mid bite, a look of confusion on his face. "Who said that?"

Raph frowned. "Whatcha talkin' about, Mikey?"

"Someone just said they were hungry," Mikey said.

I froze. Did Mikey just hear me?

All the sudden a loud shriek filled my ears. It sounded like the feedback from a microphone. Glancing up at the translator, I could have sworn I saw it sparking. I quickly crept towards Donnie.

"Donnie," I said. My voice sounded extremely high pitched.

Donnie raised an eyebrow.

"Drop a fork. I need to talk to you." I said, my voice went from high to low tones.

Donnie casually slid his fork off the table. With a slight laugh, he bent down to retrieve it. "What's wrong with your voice?" He asked.

"It's your translator," I said. "It's malfunctioning." Sparks flew of the translator and nearly burnt Don.

He quickly sat back up and said to the others. "Um, I need to take Sophie back to my lab." He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me towards the lab. Once inside, he quickly accessed the translator. "You overloaded it. How the heck did you overload the circuit?"

"How should I know," I said angrily, my voice still acting weird. "You invented the darn thing."

Donnie sighed. "Luckily I prepared a backup chip just in case the original got damaged. Just give me a second, Chloe, and I switch the old one out for the new."

I waited and after five minutes, the chip was replaced. "This one better not malfunction." I warned him as I shook my head from side to side. "Because if it sparks again, you are the first one I'm going to let the sparks burn."

Someone cleared their throat behind us. We stiffened as we turned towards the person.

Master Splinter stood in the doorway to the lab with one eyebrow raised.

"Uh, hi Master Splinter," Donnie said sheepishly.

Master Splinter looked at me, his expression calm. "So, your real name is Chloe."

"I guess you found out I wasn't a dog," I said with a sigh.

"Oh, I've known for quite some time that you weren't a dog. I was just waiting for you to tell me."

Donnie and I remained silent as we stared at the floor.

Master Splinter leaned forward on his stick. "I understand why you are afraid to tell the truth but I believe that you are greatly misjudging my sons. I know them well. They will accept you even though you are a human." He paused. "I suggest you tell them soon. The longer you wait, the bigger the divide you form with the others."

"Yes, Master Splinter," I said as I bowed my head respectfully.

Master Splinter nodded his head. "I suggest you return to the table. Your food is getting cold."

As he walked away, I said. "Thank you Master Splinter."

If he heard me, he didn't say anything.

We both sighed, knowing what we had to do.

"You know," Donnie said, "We could wait till tomorrow. I mean after the translator malfunctioning, I think I have had enough excitement for today."

"Yeah," I said. "I agree."

"So, tomorrow?" He asked.

I nodded. "Tomorrow."

We both knew we weren't going to tell them tomorrow.

* * *

So, there you go. It's a little longer than last time. Don't worry, it's going to pick up again next chapter. Anyway, let me know what you think!


	14. The Junkyard

The Junkyard

(The Code)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! I've got a new chapter! Just to let you know, I re-did the first part of the last chapter to make it a little clearer. It's not necessary to read it though. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Sometimes I wish I were a rock. Rocks don't feel guilty when they haven't told the truth to the others in a week. Rocks don't feel like a failure when they see the disappointment in Master Spinter's eyes. Rocks aren't complicated and confusing. Rocks just act like…rocks. Nothing fazes them and they sit on their fat lazy butts all day.

I was having one of those moments again as I watched Donnie checking his supplies and making notes in a notebook. Both of us had gotten tired of being cooped up so when Donnie got the okay, we decided to go to the junkyard. Of course, Leo wasn't going to let us go alone so Mikey decided to tag along.

Donnie wasn't too happy about this since he didn't like the idea of being helpless. I understood how he felt. He thought that they didn't trust him to be safe so he needed an escort.

Donnie slammed a can a little too loudly, disturbing me from my thoughts. I cocked my head as I watched him. I knew that I had to distract him.

"So, how is going to a junkyard going to help you build stuff? I mean, it's all trash."

Donnie looked at me like I was an idiot. "Haven't you ever heard of the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure? You can find a lot of cool stuff in the junkyard."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Prove it"

Donnie smirked. "You see this bike here? It's entirely made out of stuff I found in the junkyard." The motorcycle had fresh red paint and the rims of the wheels sparkled in the light. It did look like a pretty nice ride but I was not about to let him know that. Nope, better to tease him some more.

"So, what you are saying is that it's a hunk of junk," I said with a smirk on my face.

Donnie's eye twitched. "A piece of junk? This baby can reve up to sixty miles in three seconds and turns on a dime."

"Talk won't get you anywhere. I've got to see it to believe it."

Donnie held his finger up. "I'll prove it to you. You'll see."

Mikey peeked into the lab. "Donnie, can we go already? Justice Force starts in an hour."

* * *

It was the dead of night when we entered the junkyard. It was dark and eerie at this time of night. Mikey and Donnie act like this was completely normal as they started to scout for items. I was about to follow them when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.

I turned around just in time to see a glimpse of a tail disappearing behind a pile of garbage. Without thinking, I raced towards it. Once I went behind the pile, I looked both ways trying to figure out which way the creature went.

"This way," a female voice giggled to my left.

I ran towards it.

"Just a little further," the voice said.

I must have been crazy. I was following a disembodied voice. But, it was just that it sounded so familiar. Like something that I heard from a dream. Geez, I'm crazy.

I finally came to an open area in the junkyard. It was dimly lit by a streetlamp that would flicker occasionally.

I stood in the middle of the area, searching for the owner of the voice. There was no one. I was alone, looking like a total idiot.

Go me.

"Sarafina?" a male voice asked hesitantly.

I whirled around to face the owner. It was the Kuvastz from my dream and he looked very happy to see me. "Sarafina! Thank goodness, you got away. I wasn't sure I could get away from those humans."

"Um, I think you're confusing me with someone else. I'm not Sarafina," I said as I took a step backwards.

He frowned. "Sarafina, it's me, Aristotle. Don't you remember me? From the shelter?"

The strange part was, a part of me did seem to recognize him and it wasn't because I had seen him in a dream. It was the familiarity you get when you meet up with an old friend. This couldn't be right though. How can you feel as if someone is a close friend when you've never met them in your entire life?

"Look," I said, "I know I may look like this Sarafina but I'm not her. My name is So…er, I mean Chloe."

Aristotle laughed. "Not Sarafina? Look, uh _Chloe_, Sarafina was a mutt. She is the only one who looks like herself."

"That's the thing. I'm not a dog, I'm a human."

This only made him laugh worse. "I can't believe you are trying to pull my tail with this Chloe thing of yours. Though of all things, trying to pass off as one of those humans…"

I was getting pretty fed up with Aristotle's lack of seriousness. I stomped up to him and got right in his face. "Listen you! I am not Sarafina. I am Chloe. I am human. And now, I am leaving."

I turned around and stomped away from him.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you," A soft male voice whispered. Looking up, I saw a bat hanging upside down from the lamppost.

"Why not?" I asked.

"There are humans dressed in black over there and they seem to be slinking around the junkyard looking for something."

I froze. The foot was going to ambush Mikey and Donnie and I had been foolish enough to abandon them. "Oh, no." I said as I continued to walk in that direction.

"Where are you going?" Aristotle asked.

I looked back at them. "I have two..er somewhat human friends here..."

"Are they dressed as turtles?" The bat asked.

I nodded.

"Oh, I've seen them. Those two are rather odd."

I ignored him as I continued. "I have a feeling those men in black are after them so I've got to go warn them."

Both the bat and Aristotle looked at me as if I were crazy.

"You aren't serious, are you?" Aristotle asked.

I frowned. "Of course, they are going to be ambushed. We should help them."

The bat raised an eyebrow. "Why should we help humans? What have they ever done for us?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They didn't even care if the turtles got hurt.

"Why tell me then? Why give me a warning?"

Again, they looked at me as if I were an idiot.

"The code," they said at the same time.

I frowned. "The code?"

Aristotle sighed. "Geez, you really have lost your memory if you forgot the code."

"We only kill each other for survival, nothing more." The bat said, "When we do not need to kill, we look out for one another. That is the code of the animal kingdom."

"So, why not extend it for humans?" I asked.

Aristotle growled. "Why should we help those savages? They destroy our land."

"Kill for pleasure," the bat added.

"And don't give a care for anyone but themselves," Aristotle finished.

"Plus, they can't speak anyway," the bat said.

I shook my head. There was no point trying to convince them. Besides each minute talking to them, was a minute I could be using to warn Donnie and Mikey.

"I've got to go," I said as I took off deeper into the junkyard.

I ignored their calls as I sped up. Code or no code, I was going to warn them. They were my friends after all.

* * *

L.A.: That's the end of the chapter. Tell me what you think!


	15. Cinnamon and Pizza

The Search for Cinnamon and Pizza

(My Secret is Blown)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here's a new chapter. Oh, and to Page-Mistress, you said something about the code extending to the turtles. Hopefully this will explain why it doesn't. Also, remember from before, Donnie smells like cinnamon and Mikey smells like pizza to Sophie. Anyway enjoy!

* * *

I sniffed the air frantically as I tried to find their scents. Instead of smelling cinnamon and pizza, I smelled molded cheese, rotten eggs, and someone's sweaty socks. This shouldn't have been hard. I was a dog. Dogs could find stuff. So, why was I having a hard time?

Part of it might have been the fact that what Aristotle and the bat had said was still bugging me.

_Why should we help humans?_

Those words kept running over and over in my head. I could understand why the bat might feel this way. The superstition conjured up from vampires has caused the human population to view this species as evil and pests. I couldn't, however, understand Aristotle's view.

Kuvasz are known for their extreme loyalty for their humans. They will even take a bullet meant for their master. So, why did Aristotle suddenly dislike humans? Did it have to do with the foot?

Also, why didn't they recognize the turtles as animals? I mean, the bat referred to them as men wearing turtle costumes. They couldn't speak the language of the animals. Had the ooze made them so human that they lost their rights as animals?

I stopped in my musings as two familiar smells filled my nostrils.

Cinnamon and Pizza. They weren't that far away. Without hesitation, I raced around the corner. It seemed I was already too late to warn them. The foot had already ambushed them. This didn't mean that I wasn't too late to help. With claws out and teeth bared, I threw myself at the closest foot ninja. We were sent tumbling to the ground as we started to wrestle. The ninja smacked me in the face as I bit down hard into his arm. He let out a yelp as I was thrown off him. My tail and the hair on my back were raised as I growled.

The foot ninja was helped up by another as they stared at me.

"It's that dog," the one I had tangled with said. "Let's get her before those freaks notice."

I shifted my gaze from one to the other as my growling intensified. There was no way I was going to be taken.

The foot ninjas' eyes widened.

Glancing at myself, I realized that I was human with white hair, dog ears, white fluffy tail and was butt naked.

Taking advantage of the moment, I yelled, "You perverts!" as I punched them both in the face. They crumbled like leaves.

Once again, I looked around frantically for some form of clothing. As ironic as it may seem, I found yet another potato sack that had holes. Wearing it like a dress, I charged into the middle of the fight and knocked two ninjas out. Mikey and Donnie stared at me in surprise as I stood up and faced the other ninjas. With a grin, I said, "Hello boys, did you miss me?"

I always wanted to say that.

"Chloe?" Donnie asked in disbelief.

"Chloe…" Mikey's eyes widened as he noticed the translator and my collar. "Wait, Sophie?"

One down two to go.

"Yes, it's me, Mikey. Deal with it." I said as the ninjas circled around us once more.

"B-but," Mikey started. I shoved him out of the way just as a ninja attacked. I dodged the ninja and dropped kick him. Once again, I had these amazing acrobatic skills. And, once again, I felt perfectly calm. I back flipped and punched a ninja in the face. A ninja appeared behind me and grabbed hold of me, pinning my arms to my body. I let out a yelp as I tried to hit his instep. I was surprised when he let go of me and started to slap his feet. Looking down, I saw a couple of rats biting his feet. I glanced at the garbage pile nearby and saw a couple of rats watching from a hole.

The code of the animals floated through my head. Where they helping me since a part of me was a dog or was it because they were protecting their family?

It seemed the foot ninjas had had enough since they vanished into the shadows. Cocking my head, I faintly heard their footsteps as they left. A sound off to my right caught my attention. Whirling around, I saw Aristotle standing on a ledge looking at me. His expression was a mixture between sadness and loneliness. Before I could talk to him, he was gone.

I turned my attention to Mikey and Donnie. Mikey was busy freaking out while Donnie just shook his head.

"Wait, wait, wait, so Sophie is actually Lindsey's friend Chloe. So that means Sophie's a…girl?" Mikey said.

I resisted the urge to slap my head. "Uh, Mikey? I've always been a girl."

"I mean," Mikey said, "you were a dog before. Now you're like a human…girl."

Donnie groaned as he slapped his forehead. "Mikey…"

Mikey's eyes widened as he pointed an accusing finger at him. "Wait you knew, didn't you? I can't believe this. Why am I always the last one to know?"

"You're not the last one to know," I said. " Raph and Leo don't know yet. Besides this probably won't last long. Any minute, I'll transform into a dog just like last time."

Two minutes passed and I was still in the same form.

"Well," I said as I inspected myself. "This is new."

"Mikey, Donnie? What's going on?" Leo asked.

All three of us whirled around to face Leo and Raph. They looked at me in confusion.

"Who's she and where's Sophie?" Raph asked.

An evil grin spread across Mikey's face. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

L.A.: Okay, I know it's short but don't hurt me. At least, everyone knows though we'll have to see how they will react to the news… Anyway, tell me what you think!


	16. Confessions From the Heart

Confessions from the Heart

(How I Convinced Them to Keep Me)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter. One of the reviewers asked if they could draw my character. Just to let you know, I am totally okay, in fact would love, if you guys feel inspired to draw any of them. Just let me know so I can post a link on my profile.

So, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

"…and then there were these aliens and they came down from this humongous spaceship. They were like boom! Boom! Boom! And Donnie was like AHHH!" Mikey said as we walked back to the lair. Donnie and I were in the background shaking our heads. Raph and Leo completely ignored me as Mikey continued his story.

"…and so all the sudden Sophie transforms into a human and kicks the dragon's butt. So, Donnie and I took on the aliens and we beat them. That's how we saved the world!" Mikey said triumphantly.

"Mikey," Donnie said as he rubbed his forehead. "That's not what happened at all." He proceeded to tell what really happened including the fact he knew I was human for awhile. After he finished, everyone was silent for a moment.

Mikey crossed his arms and muttered. "My version was better."

When we reached the lair, Raph, Leo and Mikey went to their rooms leaving Donnie and me in the main room.

"They are really angry with me," I sighed.

Donnie gave me a reassuring hug. "Just give them time. They need to process this."

I looked up at him and winced. "I should probably talk to them, shouldn't I?"

"That might help," Donnie said. "But, I bet you want to get out of that first."

I hadn't realized I had been scratching my shoulder. Now that he mentioned it, the potato sack was really itchy and uncomfortable.

"That would be nice," I said as I followed him to his room.

"I have some clothes from when we go to the surface. They might be a little big for you," he said as he scrounged around in his drawers.

"Hey Don," I said, "Why didn't you tell them about me earlier?"

Donnie froze for a moment in his scrounging before continuing. "I figured it was your secret. So, I should respect your wishes and let you tell them when you were ready." He tossed me the clothes. "Don't worry, they've been washed."

I thanked him as I took them to the bathroom and changed. He was right. They were baggy and gray but at least they were comfortable. I didn't have to worry about my tail since there was room. I adjusted the drawstring as I stepped out of the bathroom.

Mikey was downstairs watching TV. Taking a deep breath, I went and sat down beside him. He refused to look at me as he watched the TV.

I dipped my head so I could to see his face. "Hey Mikey."

Mikey still refused to look at me. "Hi."

I sighed as I sat back on the sofa. "So, are you going to ignore me?"

"Whatever," Mikey said.

I groaned. "Mikey, come on. Just because I'm not a dog anymore doesn't mean we can't be friends anymore. Plus," I paused dramatically, "you can hold this over Leo and Raph since you knew before them."

Mikey didn't respond.

With a sigh, I stood up.

"Do I still get to call you Sophie?" Mikey asked. I looked at him and saw that he had the most pitiful expression ever. How could I refuse?

I smiled. "Yeah, you can still call me Sophie."

A big smile appeared on his face. "Okay!" He turned his attention back to the TV and my eye twitched.

"Seriously, that's the reason why you were angry at me?" I said.

Mikey shook his head, still grinning. "Nope, wasn't angry. I just wanted to see if you would feel guilty."

I resisted the urge to slap him upside the head as I walked away. "You're lucky this time."

"Love you too Sophie!" Mikey said cheerfully.

One down two to go.

Now, I had to decide who to talk to next. Leo or Raph. I wasn't too motivated to see Raph since I was pretty sure he was going to chuck something at me.

So, Leo was next. Cocking my head, I could faintly hear movement in the dojo. With a sigh, I trudged towards it. Klunk shot out from nowhere. He froze right in front of me and stared wide-eyed.

With an evil grin, I leaned down towards him. "What are you going to do now pussy cat?"

"AHHHH! SATAN!" Klunk shrieked as he raced towards Mikey.

I let out a chuckle as I entered the dojo. My happy demeanor vanished as I saw Leo. He was in the middle of the dojo mediating.

I quietly kneeled before him as I waited for Leo to acknowledge my presence.

"You need something?" He asked, his eyes closed and his voice betraying no emotion. I knew better. I could sense his anger and hurt radiating from him.

"Yeah," I said, "I need to talk to you."

Leo sighed as he opened his eyes. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You know what I want to talk about," I said. "I want to explain why I didn't tell you guys earlier."

Leo didn't say anything so I took it as he wanted me to continue. "Look, I didn't tell you because I was scared, okay. I had just come to accept what had happened. The future was just too scary for me. I thought that maybe you would kick me out as soon as you knew I was human."

"But why didn't you trust us," Leo blurted out. We both sat there in shock at Leo's sudden outburst

"It wasn't that I didn't trust you," I said calmly. "I didn't trust myself." I glanced down at the floor as my fingers played with the drawstring on my pants. "The truth is, my parents are never around. It's not their fault. It's their business that makes them travel. I was so used to being alone that I didn't think anything of it." I shrugged. "Sure I had Lindsey and her family but I saw them as close friends not family." I looked back up at him. "And then I was turned into a dog and met you guys. Spending time with you guys, I realized, I really did need a family. I love spending time with guys. Meditating with you, attacking Mikey, teasing Raph, and helping Donnie. I felt truly needed and for the first time whole." I sighed. "Can you really blame me for being scared of losing something that I just realized I truly needed?"

Leo studied me for a moment and for once I couldn't sense his emotions. "You know," he said after a moment, "you weren't ever going to lose us. We've kind of grown attached to you too." He smiled. "Plus, once you meet us, you're kind of stuck with us for the rest of your life."

I was so happy that I hugged him. Leo looked slightly taken aback but he hugged me as well. "Thanks, Leo."

There was a loud crash from upstairs and we both visibly winced. Pulling back, I said. "I should probably go talk to Raph now."

Leo nodded. "Yeah, preferably before he destroys his entire room."

I sent him a smile before I scurried off to Raph's room.

* * *

The door was slightly ajar when I reached his room and deathly silent. I gulped as I stepped into the room.

Raph was sprawled out in his chair bouncing a hacky sack off his hand. He glared at me. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," I said as I noticed the remains of a wooden chair in the corner.

"I ain't in a talkin' mood." Raph muttered.

"Yeah, I can tell you're not in a talking mood," I said sarcastically, "You seem to be in a I am immature and am going to destroy inanimate objects just because I can mood."

Raph caught the hacky sack and squeezed it in his fist.

Okay, this probably wasn't the best way to start an apology but I was tired and my patience was beginning to waver.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, I said. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but the reason is…"

"That ya really didn't trust us," Raph interrupted. "That you were really hopin' to figure out a way to escape so that ya'd never have to deal with us again?"

"Oh my gosh Raph!" I said in exasperation. "I am not that puppy."

Raph's eyes widened as he stood up. "Don't ya dare bring that puppy into this. I won't listen…"

My patience finally broke. "Oh, you will listen to me! You will hear my apology and take it like a man…er, turtle!"

Raph was about to protest but I cut him off as I marched toward him, my finger in his face. "Not another word! Whether you like it or not, I am in your life so you are going to have to deal with it. I like you, your brothers, and Master Splinter, and frankly I think you are a lot more fun than some humans so don't you dare think that I think your freaks." I pointed to myself. "I have a flipping tail and dog ears. You don't get much freakier than that." At this point, I was right in his face. "Yes, I didn't tell you and yes it sucks but if we are going to remain friends then just accept it and move on."

Raph fell back in his chair, apparently shocked at the fact that I got up in his face without peeing my pants. I whirled around in a huff and was almost at the door when I remembered something. I turned around with a sheepish grin and said. "I really am sorry about not telling you. It was a stupid move on my part and I hope you'll forgive me." I walked out of the room and slammed the door behind me.

Donnie was standing outside looking as if he was trying hard not to laugh. I glared at him. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Donnie smirked. "It was kind of hard not to since you were screaming at the top of your lungs."

"I heard you too," Mikey called from his place at the couch.

I sighed as I leaned against the wall.

Donnie frowned. "You look tired."

"I feel tired," I said, "I can't take much more of this."

"Chloe!" Master Splinter called from his room. "Please come here."

I looked at Donnie terrified.

With a comforting grin, Donnie directed me towards Master Splinter's room. "Don't worry. He's not going to hurt you."

I wasn't worried he was going to hurt me. No, I was terrified he was going to say that I had to leave. Where was I supposed to go?

Before I realized what was happening, I was standing outside his room.

"Enter," he said.

With shaky legs, I entered his room. I felt as if I had stepped into a Japanese pagoda. Rice paper was everywhere and the smell of tea filled the room. I didn't pay much attention to what else was in his room since I wasn't sure why I was called in.

When I reached him, I kneeled before him. I figured this was the proper thing to do since I saw the turtles do it all the time.

"I see you have talked to my sons," Master Splinter said.

I nodded my head.

"You seemed to care a great deal for them" he added.

"Please don't send me away," I blurted out. I knew I was being rude but it seemed as if the floodgates had opened since words kept tumbling out of my mouth. "I know I haven't been a very good guest so far but now that I'm sort of human I can help out."

"Chloe…"

"Honest, I've had to stay at my apartment by myself loads of times so I know how to cook and clean…

Master Splinter frowned. "Chloe…"

"And I really do care about you guys so I wouldn't dare tell anyone about you. Not like it would do me much good seeing how I'm part dog and…"

"Chloe!"

I immediately shut up. I knew better than to try Master Splinter's patience.

"I never said anything about forcing you to leave," Master Splinter said, "In fact, I feel your presence will greatly help the lair, isn't that right, my sons?"

I whirled around and saw all four peaking in through the door as they grinned sheepishly. How had they sneaked up without me hearing them? How can I say I have canine senses if I didn't notice that? Man, I really am a failure in life.

It was then that I registered what Master Splinter had said. Whirling around, I said. "You mean I can stay?"

Master Splinter nodded.

"Thank you, Master Splinter," I said as I tackled hugged him. Yep, I tackled hugged a ninja master. I'm pretty sure that is really disrespectful but Master Splinter just chuckled and hugged me back.

"Sweet!" Mikey said happily. "We are so having a party tonight. I call for pizza and we can invite Casey, April and Lindsey." Mikey laughed. "I can't wait to see their reactions."

My eye twitched. Oh yeah, Lindsey. That was going to be interesting.

* * *

L.A.: Okay, so that is the end of this chapter and it's long for once! Whoop! Anyway, let me know what you think!


	17. Party Time!

Party Time!

(What do you mean I still can't eat chocolate?)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. Thank you for the amazing reviews! It's so great to know people are interested in this story.

* * *

It turned out interesting was putting it mildly. Lindsey went into hysterics when she saw me. "You're alive," Lindsey said as she hugged me in a death grip. "Where have you been? Why the heck didn't you call me?"

"Lindsey," I wheezed.

"Do you know how worried I've been? I went to Central Park at night looking for you. Central Park _at night. _I could have gotten killed!"

"I can't breathe," I gasped.

"Sorry," Lindsey said as she stepped back sheepishly.

The turtles and I explained all that had happened to Casey, April, and Lindsey. Lindsey took it pretty well but I could tell she was angry.

I knew though that the discussion wouldn't end there so I decided a little privacy was in order. "Lindsey and I are going to have a private talk in Don's lab. None of you may listen. Mikey if you try to eavesdrop I will slam your fingers in the door."

"Why are you accusing me?" Mikey said.

"'Cause you're the most likely," Raph said.

"Aw…"

I grabbed Lindsey by the wrist and dragged her into Don's lab.

That was when we had our yelling match.

We both yelled at each other for being stupid. I was angry that she went into Central Park and nearly died. She was angry because I had multiple chances to tell her and didn't.

She called me selfish.

I called her a jerk.

We stared at each other for a heated moment before breaking into laughter. As we hugged each other, I said. "You know, I've never been able to stay mad at you for very long."

She grinned. "Me neither."

Pulling back, I held out my hand. "Truce?"

Lindsey shook it. "Truce."

"Good because I really need to ask you a favor…"

"You want me to bring you some of your old clothes," Lindsey said.

The girl knew me well. I wasn't really surprised though since she was my best friend.

A sound by the door caught our attention. I winked at Lindsey before sneaking up towards the door. I threw it wide open with a sinister grin on my face.

Mikey looked back at me guiltily. "Oh, shell."

Screaming like a little girl, he ran away with me following. He was about to reach the living room when I tackled him. I sat on top of his shell as his arms and legs flailed around him. I think he was trying to say something but since his face was being smothered by the carpet, all I could hear was muttering.

I looked up at the others innocently and said. "So, is the pizza here?"

* * *

The dinner was a huge success. I really got to know April and Casey. April owned an antique shop known as 2nd time around. She was really sweet and very knowledgeable. She seemed like a great person to have long random conversations with… besides Lindsey of course.

Casey Jones was a big goof ball with amazing strength. Deep down though, he was a real sweet guy.

As we continued talking, I reached out and grabbed a slice of chocolate cake.

"Chloe!" Donnie said, looking at me horrified. Glancing around, I saw that everyone was surprised I had taken a slice of the chocolate cake.

"What?" I said.

"You're part dog. You can't eat chocolate. It will poison you," Donnie said.

I rolled my eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. Chocolate is a comfort food. I need chocolate."

"You don't need chocolate. You just want it. You could give it up and still be okay," Donnie said.

I smirked. "Oh, well if it's that easy then you should give up coffee."

Donnie looked shocked. "What? It's not the same, I need coffee."

"You don't need coffee," I said, "You just want it. You could give it up and still be okay."

Everyone except Donnie snickered at this.

"Fine," Donnie said, grumpily, "It's your funereal."

Satisfied, I turned my attention back to my chocolate cake. As I stared at it, I felt slightly nauseous. I reached for my fork and my stomach did a flip.

Glaring, I shoved the cake away from me and crossed my arms. "This sucks."

* * *

After dinner, we went to the living room. The TV volume was on low as we continued to chat.

"So, Leo," I said, "How's Lindsey doing with her sword lesson?"

Lindsey sent me a glare. I cocked an eyebrow curiously. Why was she so upset?

"She's actually doing pretty well," Leo said.

"So, ya trying to become a ninja," Casey said.

Lindsey shook her head. "Oh, no, I would never have the discipline to become a ninja. Chloe was actually the person who got me interested in swords since she took a couple of fencing lessons and loves swords."

"You took fencing lessons?" April asked.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, but I only took a few beginner's classes. I really want to learn to master the sword though."

"I don't think Chloe and swords would be a good idea," Raph said, "Seein' how she can't even fight a punchin' bag."

I glared at him. "That's not funny."

"Wait," Mikey said dramatically, "I have something to say."

We all looked at him skeptically.

Mikey completely ignored us. "So, Donnie you knew Sophie was a girl yet you let her sleep in your room. In your bed."

If it were anyone else, I would have been suprised at the sudden random statement. However, we were dealing with Mikey. It was to be expected.

Glancing around, I could tell no one else seemed surprised at his statement either.

Donnie shook her head as he squirmed slightly. "It's not like that. When I found out, I made her sleep in a separate bed."

"Oh don't act like that, Don," I said with an impish grin, "You know you liked it."

Donnie turned bright red as everyone burst out laughing.

As the laughter subsided, I turned my attention to the TV. The news was on and once again they were doing the adoption section. A picture flashed up on the screen and I felt myself gasp. The husky puppy from my dream was on the TV.

All the sudden, I couldn't hear anything and my vision began to tunnel. I felt myself swaying back and forth. I was about to fall when I felt something grab me and wrap me in their arms. _At least, I know I'm not going to hurt myself_, I thought as the darkness consumed me.

* * *

L.A.: That's it for now. On a side note, I wrote a one shot called Trojan Horse. It has nothing to do with this story though. A random plot bunny had decided to jump in my lap and wouldn't leave until I wrote it. Feel free to read and review it. Anyway, back to this story, let me know what you thought!


	18. Newspaper Ledes

Newspaper Ledes

(Tails should never be invented)

* * *

L.A.: Sorry for taking so long. I had planned to have this out earlier but I have been super busy with the real world. Also, the first title is a little play on words for journalists. Oh well, I hope you find this interesting!

* * *

_I frowned as I looked around me. I was definitely not in the lair. In fact, this place looked a lot like the shelter from my original dream. _

"_You still at it are you?" a voice asked behind me._

_I whirled around and saw Aristotle. However, his comment was not directed towards me. He was actually addressing my dog self…er, Sarafina. _

_I swear, seeing her made me feel as if I was having an out of body experience._

_She was concentrating on a chalkboard that was set up in front of her. It looked like an itinerary that was written awhile ago since the date in the top left corner dated two years back._

"_I'm going to figure this out," Sarafina said, never once taking her eyes off the board._

_Aristotle sighed. "Do you honestly believe that you will figure out the human's language when no other animal has?"_

_Sarafina shook her head hard. "No, there was one who learned part of the human language. It was the Japanese Macaque monkey, Akira."_

"_Akira?" The little husky puppy from my previous dream asked as he waddled towards them. _

"_Yes," Sarafina said, sounding distracted. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to contact him." She turned back to the blackboard._

_Glancing over at Aristotle, I could tell he was agitated with Sarafina. The way he shifted from one foot to the other. He looked like he resisting the urge to slap some sense into her. Taking a deep breath, he said. "But, why do you think it is so important to learn the human's language?"_

_Sarafina looked back at him in disbelief. "How can you say it isn't important? For some unknown reason, humans and animals haven't been able to communicate. There have been so many misinterpretations that have caused many humans and animals to be killed. Take the incident at the zoo the other day when the humans shot and killed an elderly tiger. I guess they thought he was going to kill the humans but all he was doing was asking them where is home was."_

_Aristotle shook his head. "It was his own fault for forgetting."_

_Sarafina sighed. "You are impossible."_

_I blinked and the scene changed. I was back in the foot's lab. It was darkly lit except for a strange green glow coming from a tube up ahead. It was filled with the green liquid. Floating within the liquid unconscious was Sarafina._

_I blinked again and found myself back at the shelter._

"…_I swear, you act like a philosopher," Aristotle was saying as the husky puppy and he walked away. _

_Sarafina never took her eyes away from the board. "There's something missing."_

_I gasped as I found myself back in the lab, inches away from the tube holding Sarafina. I nearly screamed when her eyes shot open looking straight at me. "Have you figured it out yet?" She whispered._

* * *

With a start, I awoke. Sweat was pouring off me. Glancing down at my hands, I noticed that something was off. Well, for one thing, they weren't hands anymore. They were paws.

"Seriously," I said, my voice coming out as a whine. "I'm a dog again!"

"Oh," Don said as he approached me. Relief was evident on his face. "I'm glad to see you up again. You are looking better."

"I'm a dog again. How can I possibly be looking better," I said. My voice sounded strange again. Like I was growling and snarling.

Donnie winced as he went towards his desk. "Okay, we definitely need to put the translator back on."

I mentally slapped myself. How could I forget that I had taken the translator off when I became human again?

Donnie adjusted the translator around my forehead. "Okay test it."

"You drink too much coffee," I said flatly.

"Yep," he sighed, "you're fine."

I sat up. "What happened?"

"You passed out and turned into a dog," Donnie said.

"Great, so I still turn into a dog but do I get to change back?" As if someone had heard me, I transformed back to my half dog half human form.

Donnie turned bright red as he turned away. "Sorry!"

I grasped the sheets as I covered myself back up. "Someone up there must really hate me."

"U-uh, I-I'll go get the clothes Lindsey left you," Donnie said as he practically ran out of the room.

While he was gone, I took the opportunity to make sure the sheet was covering me in the correct places. Glancing around, I realized that I was in Donnie's room. I guess he had carried me there after I had fainted. It was also morning. I had slept through the night.

Donnie returned a few minutes later with a stack of clothes in his arms. He had to walk slowly mainly because he was refusing to look forward.

"Don," I said, "You know, I'm wrapped up now. It's fine to look."

He set the pile of clothes next to the bed as he quickly whirled around. "That's okay. I'll just let you have your privacy. Let me know when you're fully clothed." He ran out again before I could say anything.

After I was fully clothed and spent several minutes convincing Donnie that he could come back into his own room, I found myself stuck in bed for the rest of the day. Apparently, the whole fainting episode made them believe that I wasn't able to function normally. Since I have always hated to sit still especially when I was being forced too, I was really angry. I took out my anger on my clothes.

Since I had a tail now, I realized that my clothing would have to accommodate it. I could almost feel tears coming down my eyes as I cut holes into my jeans and shorts.

Truthfully, tails are stupid. They just hang around doing nothing. I suppose they were useful back when dogs were wild but right now they're pointless. The worst part was that I couldn't even control it. It was as if the tail had a mind of its own. It would randomly twitch and wag. I tried to grab it once and it dodged my hand. Seriously, why were tails invented?

I sighed as I stared down at my favorite pair of jeans. "I better not regret this," I muttered as I started to cut a hole in the back.

"You okay?" Donnie asked from his desk. He had moved some of his smaller projects into his room so that he could still work while keeping an eye on me. I guess we are similar in that way. We both know that unless someone is watching us, we won't stay in bed.

"Yeah," I said, "Just wishing I didn't have to mutilate my clothes." I paused in the midst of my cutting as my thoughts trailed back to my dream. "Hey Don, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Donnie said not looking up from his little project.

"I know genetic splicing is still relatively new," I began, "but do you know if there are any abnormal side effects that come with it?"

Frowning, Donnie looked towards me. "What do you mean by side effects?"

I sighed. I might as well tell him now. "Certain images seem to trigger memories. Whenever I have these memories, I black out."

Donnie nodded. "That sounds normal. You've probably blocked them out and now your mind is slowly letting you remember so that it won't overwhelm you."

I shook my head. "The thing is though, I'm not only remembering my memories but also…someone else's."

This really caught Donnie's attention. "Who's?"

"The dog who was DNA was spliced into me," I said. "That's not normal, is it?"

Donnie scratched his head. "Well, I'm not as familiar with gene splicing but I've heard that you can develop behavior symptoms of the animal you are spliced with. It's quite possible, that this is some form of it."

I looked down at my jeans, "I guess." Somehow though, I felt it wasn't just that.

"Hello Sophie!" Mikey said as he entered the room. "How are you today?"

My eye twitched.

He had a plate of chocolate cake and was deliberately eating in front of me.

"I suggest you get that…food out of my sight if you want to live."

"Says the bedridden dog." Mikey took another bite. "Mm, yummy."

"You know," I said with a smirk, "I do know where you keep your comics hidden. If you keep being mean to me then they might just disappear one day."

Mikey paled. "Don't even think about touching them." He said as he left the room.

Donnie snickered. "Nice."

"Thank you," I said as I sat up. Finally fed up with staying in bed, I stood up, "I'm going to the kitchen."

Donnie turned to look at me.

"I'm not going to be gone long," I said.

"You better not or I might have to sit on you just like you did to me."

I narrowed my eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Donnie said as he returned to his work.

I shot him a suspicious glance as I left.

I was surprised to see Raph sitting at the table reading the newspaper. He looked up when I walked in. "What?"

"You're reading the newspaper," I said, unable to keep the surprise from my voice.

"Yeah, I do it every mornin'," Raph said, looking at me as if I were an idiot.

"You read the newspaper," I said, still unable to accept what I was seeing. I mean, this is the turtle who would beat the crud out of anyone if he could and he was just sitting there. Calmly reading the newspaper...like my dad. It was just so weird.

Raph sighed, angrily. "Why is it so hard to believe I read the paper? I just want to keep up with what's goin' on up there."

"Sorry," I said as I plopped down next to him. "You just didn't strike me as the reading type." I glanced through the paper on the table. "Can I read this?"

"Knock yourself out," Raph said as he became engrossed once more in the sports section.

I chose an interesting looking article and began to read. As I scanned the article, I had to resist a gasp. A picture of a Japanese Macaque was staring back at me. The headline read in bold black letters: **Akira, One of the Seven Macaques who live in Shihon Temple, Has Come to Visit New York's Zoo.**

I knew without a shadow of a doubt what my next move was.

I had to go to the zoo.

* * *

And the end of the chapter, once again a cliffhanger. Yeah, I know I have a tendency to do that a lot. Anyway, please tell me what you think! You're reviews are always great to get!


	19. I Want to Go to the Zoo!

I Want to Go to the Zoo

(Roof Jumping is Scary)

* * *

L.A.: So, I have been very busy this week and have just had time to sit down and write. Just to let you know, Akira is Japanese for wise. There is a reason he is named such and why it is Japanese… Anywho, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

I burst into Don's room nearly giving him a heart attack.

"Geez," he muttered as he reclaimed his hold on his project. "You mind next time not bursting in like that."

"Sorry," I said, "but I need to ask you a big favor."

Donnie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What is it?"

"I need you to go with me to the zoo."

Donnie nearly fell out of his chair. "What?"

"Tonight," I added. I wasn't sure why but I had a sudden sense of urgency. Something in my gut told me that if I didn't go that night, then I would miss my chance.

"Tonight," Donnie said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're not serious, are you? Every time we go to the surface we're attacked." He sighed as he muttered, "Plus Master Splinter forbid it."

It was true that Master Splinter had forbidden us from going to the surface for a while. I understood his reasoning since it seemed we were always attacked by the foot. I actually felt bad that I was going to go against his wishes, but this was important.

"If you don't go with me," I said slyly, "then I'll have to go by myself. You wouldn't want me to be all alone in a big city would you? Especially,since I had a fainting spell earlier."

Donnie smirked. "I could force you to stay here."

This was true. He was a ninja after all so he had the ability to overcome me. But, he and I also knew that he was a pacifist which meant he wouldn't fight unless absolutely necessary.

I stared him in the eyes. "You know you aren't going to do that."

Donnie sighed as he looked longingly at his little project. "Fine, be ready at one."

* * *

One in the morning was a strange time in the lair. Everything was immersed in shadows and the only sounds that could be heard were Mikey's and Raph's loud snoring. I checked myself in the mirror one more time.

I had to say, I looked pretty cool under the circumstances. I wore black pants with a black tank top. I put on a black newspaper boy hat to cover my ears and finished off the outfit with black tennis shoes.

Alias, eat your heart out. I totally looked like a spy. Well, if I had black high heeled boots on, then I would have looked like a spy. There was no way I was going to run around in them though. They kill and I would probably twist an ankle.

I crept towards Donnie's lab and slipped inside. Donnie was ready with his brown messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He looked me up and down as his lips quirked. "Nice outfit."

I glared at him. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No," he said, looking as if he was trying not to laugh. "You just look interesting."

I crossed my arms. "I was trying to be inconspicuous."

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "Uh, you have white hair, a fluffy tail, and walking around with a mutant turtle. You can't stand out more than if you tried."

My tail drooped as I realized that I had wasted my time with my outfit.

He seemed to realize my disappointment since he quickly said, "Not that you don't look nice. You do. The robber look works."

"I was trying to look like a spy," I whined.

"Oh," Donnie winced, "Uh, shouldn't we get going?'

"Where are you two going?" Leo asked from behind us.

Donnie and I looked at each other before turning around with sheepish grins.

"We were going to check on the battle shell," Donnie said.

Leo quirked an eye ridge. "At one a.m.?"

"It's the best time to work," I said. "Your mind's clearer."

"Uh-huh," Leo said, "You're not going out."

"But Leo, I really need to go to the zoo," I said.

Leo stared at me in disbelief. "You're…risking punishment…so that you can go…to the zoo?"

"I have to go talk to a monkey," I said. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt incredibly stupid. I saw that this feeling was mirrored in Leo's and Donnie's expressions. I sighed. "Look, I wouldn't disobey Master Splinter's wishes if it wasn't important and although this sounds weird, and I can't really explain why, all I know is that I have to go tonight."

Leo frowned. "But, I can't just let you go."

"Then come with us," I said. "You can look after us without fully disrespecting Master Splinter's wishes."

He was silent for a moment. Leo sighed. "This had better been quick."

* * *

Donnie planned the quickest route to the zoo which happened to include some roof hopping. As Donnie and Leo sailed over to the next building, I stopped dead in my tracks. Once they landed, they noticed I was missing. They looked back at me.

"What are you doing?" Donnie asked.

"Uh, I'm not a ninja," I said "I can't do all those fancy ninja moves."

"It's not hard," Leo said. "Just jump."

"And die," I said. I crossed my arms and shook my head. "Forget it. I just won't go."

"Oh no," Leo said as Donnie and he jumped back to my roof. "We did not come out here risking punishment just so you can quit."

Leo grabbed one of my arms while Donnie grabbed the other. They had evil smirks on their faces and I suddenly started to feel nervous. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Just keep up with us and when we say jump. Jump." Donnie said as we began to run.

"B-but," I protested.

"Jump," Leo yelled.

And so I jumped and went screaming at the top of my lungs from one rooftop to the next. As we landed, my knees collapsed underneath me.

"Are you okay?" Donnie asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I think he was feeling bad after seeing my reaction.

I glared at them. "I hate heights and I'm pretty sure I lost my stomach back there." Standing up I asked, "How many more roofs do we have to cross?"

Both Donnie and Leo looked guilty. "Five."

I hate my life.

* * *

By the time we reached the zoo, I was pretty sure I was near death's door. Both Leo and Donnie kept asking me if I was alright. I just shook it off as we started walking through the zoo. The animals were quiet. I was pretty sure most of them were asleep.

I started slightly as I heard a shriek. A bird flew past us screaming, "Crocodile tears! I'm going to die!"

"Racist!" a male voice yelled from a nearby enclosure. "Just because I am a crocodile doesn't mean that I can't have feelings. That I can't cry."

Curious, I walked over to the enclosure and peered down. A Nile crocodile sat on a nearby log glaring angrily at the sky.

"Hello," I said.

The crocodile looked up at me in surprise. "Whoa! You speak our language. Awesone!"

"Yeah, I know," I said sarcastically, "I'm a regular Dr. Doolittle."

The crocodile chuckled at this.

"Uh, Chloe," Leo whispered. "Why are you talking to a crocodile?"

I ignored him. "By any chance, do you know where Akira is staying?"

The crocodile nodded. "Yeah, if you take a right up ahead and go down to the end, you'll find him."

I grinned. "Thanks!"

The crocodile grinned. "Say, you want to come down to my pond and chat a little bit?"

I winced as I saw his teeth gleam in the moonlight. "Uh, no thanks."

"Oh, I see how it is." The crocodile glared as we started to leave. "Racist!"

Donnie leaned towards me. "Uh, do I want to know what happened?"

I shook my head. I could feel a headache coming. "No, no you don't."

Following the crocodile's instructions, we found ourselves in front of Akira's cage in minutes.

"Akira?" I asked as I peered into his cage.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at me. "Ah, I was wondering when you would come." He said as he stepped into the light from a nearby streetlamp. "I'm afraid though, we don't have much time."

* * *

L.A.: And I'm going to stop here because I'm tired. This week has been stressful. Blah… Anyway, let me know what you think!


	20. Akira

Akira

(I get the crud beaten out of me)

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. Also, if any of you are interested one of the readers drew Chloe in her dog form. I have a link to it on my profile. You guys should check it out! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Okay, this monkey was really starting to creep me out. It had those glowing yellow eyes and seemed aware of my presence long before I got there. Actually this whole predicament was weird. I mean, I was talking to a monkey! If any human saw me, they would probably would send me to the asylum.

"Are you psychic or something?" I asked before I could stop myself. "How did you know I was coming?"

Akira smirked. "You could say I am clairvoyant or I could have heard Parker, the Nile Crocodile, screaming at you."

I flushed at this. That did make sense.

"So," Akira continued, unfazed, "We don't have much time. The security guard will make his round any minute."

"A ...friend of mine had wanted to talk to you. Her name was Sarafina. Ever heard of her?"

Akira's eyes widened in recognition. "Of course, lovely dog. Wanted to know what I knew about the human language. Obviously she figured it out on her own since you two could converse."

I sighed, dreading what I was about to say. "Actually, she isn't here anymore." I said as I lifted my hat to reveal my dog ears. "You see the foot…"

"The foot!" Akira said in alarm. "The foot are here?"

I was about to speak when I noticed Donnie and Leo tense up beside me. A second later, I sensed a change in the atmosphere.

Someone was here.

Akira's arm shot out from his cage to grab my wrist. Eyes wide, he said. "Listen, you mustn't let yourself be captured by the foot. They must never know you can speak to animals. Do you understand?"

I was about to respond when ten figures clothed in black materialized from the shadows.

"Hm," I said as I cocked my head. "I take it you aren't the security guards."

Leo and Donnie charged into the group taking out five each.

Where they had fallen, more foot ninjas appeared.

Five surrounded me forcing me to take a battle stance. Since Leo and Donnie were too busy fighting off the others, I was on my own. I dodged a fist and prepared to do a back flip when I suddenly realized...

I couldn't remember how I to do a back flip.

In fact, I couldn't remember how to do any of those cool moves I had used in the previous fight.

During my moment of confusion, I left myself open and was kicked hard in the ribs. I was sent sprawling several feet. Clutching my side, I stood up desperately trying to come up with a plan. My mind was blank.

I tried to quell the panic that was starting to rise in my chest. The ninjas seemed to notice my inability to fight.

One of them snickered as he approached me. Cracking his knuckles, he said. "This is going to be fun."

"Leo! Don!" I yelled but they were too busy fighting their own battles to notice my dilemma.

I dodged a kick only to realize a moment too late that he was faking and was promptly punched in the left eye.

I yelped as my hand went to my eye. I was definitely going to have a black eye. A ninja appeared behind me and dropped kick me. My balance was compromised but I was able to prevent myself from falling. However, I left myself open for a swift kick in the gut. The force sent me tumbling head over heels into a nearby enclosure.

My body was aching as I tried to stand up. I was wheezing from having the wind knocked out of me and my left eye was swollen nearly shut.

I hated to admit it but I started to cry. I was in pain, scared, and alone with five ninjas who were enjoying beating the crud out of me.

"Help," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Please someone, help."

The ninjas snickered as they materialized from the shadows.

"No one is going to help you, freak," one of the ninjas muttered.

"That's what you think," a voice growled.

Parker walked towards us. "Tell me," he said as he looked at the ninjas. "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

Of course, all the foot ninjas heard was growling but it was enough to send them running.

With a roar, Parker charged after them. As they jumped over the enclosure, one ninja wasn't fast enough. Parker snapped onto the ninja's rear as he was jumping. There was the sound of cloth tearing. When the ninja appeared on the other side of the enclosure in the street lamp's light, there was a hole in is pants exposing his bright red boxers.

I laughed slightly as I collapsed on the ground. "Don't ever listen to what they say, Parker. Crocodiles are amazing."

Parker grinned cheekily as he waddled towards me. "Thank you." He glanced up at the enclosure. "Need a lift?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Hey, do me a favor?" He said as he allowed me to use his head to reach the enclosure. "When you get out tell the guys who feed me that the meat sucks." I hopped over the enclosure and looked back at him. He was sitting on his haunches looking at me. "They can call it what they want but it's still horse meat. I hate horse meat. Always have always will."

I grinned. "I'll try."

Parker saluted me as he waddled off into his enclosure. I winced as I touched my ribs. The way they were complaining I probably bruised them.

I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Glancing sideways, I saw Donnie looking at me in concern. "You look like shell? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live" I said with a sigh. "But my pride I'm not so sure about."

I looked back up and saw Leo finishing off a couple foot ninjas. He was about to sheath his katanas when we heard laughter coming from above us. The guys raised their weapons as we gazed in the direction of the laughter.

20 foot ninjas lined the roof top of the building before us. Kai stood amongst them looking smug. In his arms shrieking like banshee was Akira.

"No!" I shrieked as I lunged towards them.

Donnie grabbed my arms preventing me from running.

"This isn't over freaks," Kai said, "Not by a long shot. But, we don't have time for you today. We got what we came for. Don't worry, soon we'll reclaim our other pet."

He sent a smirk in my direction.

I struggled against Donnie's grip. "Let me go!"

"Chloe," Don said, "You're in no shape to fight. We need to leave."

Kai let out another evil laugh as both Donnie and Leo dragged me away.

"What kind of ninjas are you?" I yelled angrily as tears ran down my cheeks. "We have to save him."

"A true warrior knows when to fight and when to retreat," Leo said. "This is one of those times we have to retreat." I could tell in his eyes that he didn't like his own words.

With a sigh, Donnie threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before running.

Leo shot one last glare at Kai. "This isn't over," he said before he followed us.

By the time we reached the rooftops two blocks away from the zoo, I had calmed down.

Donnie decided it was okay to set me on my feet without worrying that I would run away. The truth was I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Plus, my injuries weren't helping.

With a sigh, my legs buckled underneath me.

Donnie immediately stooped down beside me, looking concerned. "You okay?"

I wasn't okay. I had failed to save Akira. In fact, I had made a total fool of myself. However, that wasn't what was on my mind at that moment. No, there was only one thought in my mind.

"How did they know?" I whispered.

Donnie looked up at Leo confused. Leo stooped down to my level. "What are you talking about?"

"There were better animals to choose from," I said, more to myself than them. "There was a freaking crocodile yet they went specifically after Akira. The monkey I went to see."

I glanced up at them. "So, how did they know about Akira?"

* * *

L.A.: Okay, that's the end of that chapter. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	21. Apologies

Apologies

* * *

L.A.: Sorry for taking so long to update. I have had midterms all week and they are killing me. I hope you enjoy this segment of _In the Doghouse_.

* * *

We were quiet when we entered the lair, hoping beyond hope that no one noticed we were gone.

A light flipped on and we found ourselves staring at Master Splinter.

All three of us visibly winced.

"Donatello, Leonardo, Chloe," he said, "Kneel."

We immediately did what he asked.

"I specifically asked for you not to return to the surface for a while and you disobeyed my orders."

I was about to say something but I felt Leo nudge me. I glanced at him and he shook his head. Apparently, it wasn't a good time to talk to Master Splinter so I kept my mouth shut.

Master Splinter watched us for a moment before he continued. "Leonardo, Donatello. For the next month you will have an additional two hour practice of my choosing."

Donnie and Leo bowed. "Yes master."

"You two may leave."

Donnie and Leo casted me worried glances as they headed to the living room. As soon as they were out of ear shot, I said. "Please don't punish them, Master Splinter. I was the one who forced to them to come with me. They just didn't want me to get into trouble."

Master Splinter shook his head. "Although it is kind of you to take the blame, they both knew the rules and still broke them. Since you disregarded my wishes as well I will not allow you to the surface to visit April and Lindsey for a month."

This was kind of a bummer since Lindsey and I had planned to sneak me in April's car through New York so we could have a slumber party.

Master Splinter sighed. "I just hope you had a good reason."

I sighed as I thought back to Akira. "Yeah, unfortunately it didn't turn out as we planned."

He frowned. "I sense something is troubling you. Do you wish to talk about it?"

Nothing got past Master Splinter.

"I failed a friend today," I said. "I don't get it. When I fought the foot before I could kick their butt with ease but tonight…" I sighed. "It was like I had forgotten how."

Master Splinter cocked his head. "When you were fighting previously with Donatello and Michelangelo, how did you feel?"

I frowned as I thought back to the junkyard. "I had felt… protective and afraid. I didn't want anything to happen to them."

"And tonight?"

My frown deepened. "I don't know. I just was annoyed, I guess."

Master Splinter nodded. "You have been relying on adrenaline for fighting. It can be a useful weapon but when it is gone, you are defenseless. The key to fighting is skills and practice. They will stay with you even when you yourself are not thinking clearly." He paused as he looked at me. "Therefore, I insist that from now on, you will attend practice with my sons."

I stared at him in disbelief. Was he saying he was going to teach me? I was going to learn some of those amazing moves the turtles could do? I couldn't believe it.

"Thank you, Master Splinter," I said as I bowed quickly.

He seemed satisfied since he said, "I suggest you tend to your injuries and try to get some sleep."

I bid him goodnight as I headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

Leo was there, busy cleaning up the kitchen. Shame filled me as I recalled what I had said to him earlier.

"Hey Leo," I murmured.

He looked up and winced. "Yikes, that looks bad. You're definitely going to need some ice."

He grabbed an icepack from the fridge and wrapped it in a washcloth before handing it to me.

"Thanks," I said as I placed the icepack near my swollen eye. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Leo, um, I'm sorry about earlier. You know, about yelling at you for not wanting to rescue Akira. I should have known you had your reasons."

Leo sighed as he stared down at the sink. "Trust me, Chloe. It was harder than it looked. I wanted more than anything to go after them." He glanced at me. "But, I had to worry about you guys. You were injured and in no state to be left alone." He looked in the direction of the lab. "And although, Don appears fine. I know that he likes to downplay his injuries."

My eyes widened. I hadn't thought that they might be injured.

"So," Leo said, "I couldn't go after them when I wasn't sure that you two would be okay." He sighed again.

I couldn't help but feel lots of respect for Leo. He obviously put the needs for his family and friends above his own. He was even willing to sacrifice his own beliefs just to protect others. That was a trait that was rarely seen.

"You know, Leo," I whispered. "It's that heart of yours that makes you such a good leader. Don't ever lose that."

He looked at me in surprise.

I winked at him with my good eye. "Well, I'm off to drag Donnie to bed. Wish me luck."

Leo grinned. "Good luck."

* * *

Donnie was hunched over his desk, a position I had found in a thousand times over the past few weeks. He seemed to be tinkering with a battery pack.

When I walked in he glanced up and winced. "Ouch, that looks like it hurts," he indicated my eye with a nod of his head.

I shrugged. "Yeah, but I'll deal." I squinted as I tried to spot any problems with his body.

Donnie frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you're not hurt," I said as I lifted one of his arms to check.

"You look ridiculous," he said.

"Ah ha!" I said triumphantly as I pointed to the underside of his arm. "What is this?"

Donnie looked at me as if I were an idiot. "Chloe, that's just a scratch. It barely even bled."

"Still," I said stubbornly, "it needs to be cleaned. Bacteria can grow there and you could lose a limb." I wagged a finger in his face. "You need to take better care of yourself."

Donnie let out a sigh in exasperation. "This is ridiculous. Are you going to do this with every scratch and bruise I get?"

"And what is this?" I said as I pointed to a bruise that was beginning to develop on his knee.

Donnie promptly stood up and put a hand on each of my shoulders as he steered me towards the door. "You're going to bed."

"Not unless, you go to bed," I said stubbornly.

"Fine, just go," he said, although I knew he was lying.

I suddenly remembered something extremely important.

"Wait," I said stopping dead in my tracks as I readjusted my hold on the icepack. "I need to use your computer."

He eyed me suspiciously. "What for?"

I grinned mischievously. "I promised a friend I would try to get his meals changed."

* * *

L.A.: I'm sorry this is so short. I'm planning to have a longer one next time that is if life doesn't try to mess with my plans again. Anyway, tell me what you think.


	22. Nice Shiner

Nice Shiner

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! I know I promised a long chapter but unfortunately life isn't letting me at the current moment. I'm so busy that I barely have time to update these stories. Oh, well, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Whoever said that pain was only in your mind has never actually been in true pain before because when I woke up the next morning, I felt like I couldn't move. My legs and ribs ached dully while my eye pulsed in time with my heart.

I slowly sat up and nearly shrieked from the sudden burst of pain. I was pretty sure I pulled a few muscles. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to my feet. My breath came out in short spurts as I hobbled towards the mirror.

"Yeouch!" I said as I saw my reflection. My eye was nearly swollen shut and was a dark purple. There was no point in trying to cover it up since it was so painfully obvious.

With a groan, I headed towards the gym. My walking became a little easier as my legs began to loosen up. By the time I reached the gym, I was nearly walking normal.

Leo, as usual, was doing his morning meditation. He cracked an eye open and winced as I sat down next to him.

"The ice didn't work," I said, flatly.

Leo nodded. "I noticed."

Silence filled the room as we started to mediate. I fell asleep in a matter of moments.

I woke up to the sound of snickering. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow at Leo. "What?"

"Have a good nap there?" Leo asked, a smirk on his face.

I glared at him. "I wasn't sleeping. I was in deep meditation."

"Oh," he said, "so that snoring I heard comes from deep mediation."

My eyes widened. "I wasn't snoring! I never snore when I sleep!"

The grin on Leo's face made me realize my blunder.

With a huff, and a wince, I stood up. "Well, sorry that I'm not an oh so powerful ninja like yourself who thinks meditation is easy. I can see when I'm not wanted."

"Chloe," Leo laughed, "Wait."

But I was already out of the gym and heading for the kitchen. Raph was in there once more scanning the newspaper.

He looked up when I entered and grinned. "Nice shiner." Leave it to a guy to think that an injury is cool.

"It's annoying," I muttered as I grabbed one of the sections and began to browse.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

Finally, I put the section down and turned to Raph. "Hey Raph, I have a favor to ask you."

Raph looked at me suspiciously. "What is it?"

I prevented a sigh from escaping my lips. Why were the turtles always suspicious when I asked them for a favor? It wasn't like I was asking them to jump into a lake filled with hungry piranhas with an anchor tied around their ankles.

"You know how you said that I couldn't even hit a punching bag." I said, "I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Why are you askin' me for fightin' tips? You could of asked Leo."

I shook my head. "Yeah, Leo's a good fighter but he would try to teach me all the skillful stunts. I can't handle that. You, on the other hand, know street fighting. There are no fancy moves just survival techniques." I looked at him. "That's what I need."

Raph smirked at this, obviously glad that he was one up on Leo for once. "Okay, I'll teach ya."

This was great news for me. With Raph's and Master Splinter's training I would be a fighter in no time.

"Raphie!" Mikey said as he bounded into the kitchen. "Did you hear? Donnie and _Leo_ actually got in trouble!"

From the look on Raph's face, this was very uncommon. Great, I felt even more guilty.

Mikey was doing a little dance as he continued. "For once, it isn't me!" He paused in his dancing as he stared at me, wide-eyed. "Whoa! Nice shiner!"

My pride got the better of me as my cheeks heated up in embarrassment. "I hate my life," I said as I stormed off to Donnie's lab.

I nearly gave Donnie a heart attack again when I entered his lab.

"Why me," he muttered. "Of all of us, it has to be me."

"It's called tough love, Donnie," I said cheerfully. "Get used to it."

He sighed as he turned to me. His eyes widened. "Uh,"

"I know," I said, "My eye is the size of Montana." I peeked over his shoulder to see what he was working on. "Need any help?"  
Donnie shook his head. "No, I can manage."

I glared at him. "Come on, I could be very helpful."

Donnie raised an eyebrow.

"I know the difference between a Phillip's head and a flat head screw driver," I said proudly, "That's an accomplishment."

Donatello studied me for a moment.

I gave him the puppy dog face hoping he would succumb to it.

He sighed. "Fine, let's see what you can do."

I grinned. Score one for me!

Helping Donnie was a lot of fun but hard. This was probably because half the time I had no idea what he was saying. Seriously, it was like he was speaking his own language. Most of the time, he would pick up on the fact that I had no idea what he was talking about. This was probably because I would just stare at him blankly and start to zone out. He would then speak again using normal words.

I actually started understand what he wanted me to do and before I knew it, I was halfway done with creating a remote. Donnie seemed proud of my work. Well, except for when I almost fried a computer chip. He wasn't too happy about that.

Practice was cancelled because Casey, April and Lindsey came early. Casey grinned when he saw me. "Nice shiner."

"That's what we said," Mikey said happily.

"What the heck have you been doing?" Lindsey said as April inspected my eye. "Have these guys been beating up on you?"

"What?" The four turtles said.

I shook my head. "No," I said feeling really uncomfortable that everyone was staring at my eye."Now can we please stop talking about me? Let's talking about…" I trailed off as I tried to come up with another topic. "Food and how good it is."

Lindsey shook her head. "You still aren't good at changes subjects you know that?"

Before I could say anything she turned her attention to Leo. "So, Leo, I found this really cool picture of an ancient sword from Japan and I wanted to hear your opinion on it." She pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Sure," Leo said, "I'd love too."

I frowned as Lindsey began to walk away. "Excuse me! What kind of best friend are you? Here I am writhing in pain…"

"You're not writhing," Donnie interrupted.

I put my hand over his mouth to prevent him from speaking "As I was saying, I am writhing in pain and you are going to leave me here?"

Lindsey smirked. "You'll live."

I stuck my tongue out at her before turning back to April. "So, what do you think of my eye?"

"You're going to need to ice it…a lot," April said.

"Joy," I muttered.

A loud crack of thunder resounded over head as the lights flickered off and on.

"Is it rainin' up there?" Raph asked.

"It wasn't when we came down," Casey said.

April frowned. "The weatherman said there was going to be a bad storm."

The lights when out as thunder shook the lair.

"Crud," Raph muttered as he bumped into me. "What happened?"

"Must have knocked out the generator," Donnie sighed. "I'll have to activate the backup manually."

"I'll come with you," I said, unfortunately what came out of my mouth was a bark.

I had inadvertently turned back into a dog.

Perfect timing, Chloe, perfect timing…

* * *

L.A.: Oh, in case you didn't figure it out already. The nice shiner bit was a total rip off of the nice hats. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	23. Fact: Alligators Do Live in the Sewers

Fact: Alligators Do Live in the Sewers of New York

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L.A.: Hello everyone! It's been awhile, I know. By the way, did anyone see Identity Crisis on Saturday? It was freaking amazing! So many plot bunnies attacked me that I could barely think straight. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: remember I don't own the turtles (sad face)

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"Shoot," Donnie muttered. "I can't see a thing." He took a step forward right onto my tail. I yelped as I yanked my tail from under his foot.

"Sorry Klunk," he said distractedly.

"Not Klunk," I growled.

"Sophie?" Mikey called. "Wait, did you turn into a dog again?"

"Unfortunately," I muttered.

Mikey burst out laughing.

"I hate my life," I growled.

"What did she say?" Raph asked.

"Somebody get my translator," I said.

"What the heck?" Casey said as he fumbled around in the dark.

My eye twitched. "WILL SOMEBODY GET MY FREAKING TRANSLATOR ALREADY?"

Donnie turned on a flashlight. "She probably wants her translator." He shined the flashlight in my direction. "We'll have to get it later though. We've got to get the backup generator up and running so the security grid will go back online."

"April, Casey, Lindsey, Master Splinter, stay here while we go check it out," Leo said.

"No way," Casey said, "I'm comin' with you guys."

"We needs guys here to tell us when the power comes back up," Leo said. He turned toward me, "Chloe you should…" He trailed off when he realized I was walking toward the door.

Donnie frowned. "Chloe you're staying."

I gave him a blank look.

"You can't pull that off. I know you understand me," Don said with his arms crossed.

"Let her come with us," Mikey whined. "I'll watch out for her."

We looked at Leo.

He sighed. "Fine she can come. It probably would be good to have an extra pair of eyes and ears."

"Be careful, Chloe, my sons," Master Splinter said.

* * *

The turtles "conveniently" forgot to tell me that when it rains, the water level in the sewer rises. I was almost up to my chest in water.

Mikey sniffed the air and grimaced. "Ew, something smells like wet dog."

I growled at him.

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Sophie."

"So, Don," Raph said, "Why do we have to go through half the sewers to get to the backup generator?"

Don sighed. "If the main generator blew a fuse I thought we should have a backup one that wasn't connected to the same power grid. The second one is connects to the city's power grid so I had to find a place close enough to connect to it."

"I still don't see why it can't be closer," Raph muttered.

A loud clap of thunder caught me by surprise. With a yelp, I jumped about five feet into the air. The flashlight was dropped as I felt someone catch me.

I heard the sound of someone fumbling around before the flashlight was picked back up and aimed at me. Looking up I saw Donnie staring down at me with one eyebrow raised.

Raph, who was holding the flashlight, grinned. "Some guard dog you are."

"Oh, oh, oh," Mikey said as he hopped from one foot to the other. "You guys totally remind me of Shaggy and Scooby Doo."

Looking up at Donnie, I batted my eyes. "Ruh, roh," I said in my best attempt at a Scooby Doo impersonation. This was a challenge seeing how I was currently speaking dog.

He seemed to catch it because he said sarcastically. "Ha, ha, ha," before setting me on the ground.

Mikey, however, wasn't about to let it go. "You know, we could totally be the gang from Scooby Doo. Donnie can be Velma."

"Why do I have to be a girl?" Donnie muttered.

"Leo could be Freddy," Mikey continued. "Sophie could be Scooby."

"Why do I have to be the dog?" I barked.

Mikey pointed to himself. "I could be Shaggy and…" He shot a mischievous glance toward Raph. "Raph could be Daphne."

Raph's eye twitched as he swatted at him. Mikey dodged it as he laughed and ran.

"You can be deadmeat," Raph yelled after him, "because when I get my hands on you that's exactly what you're gonna be."

As Raph chased Mikey, I found myself being distracted by a strange scent. My dog instincts taking over, I put my nose to the ground as I began to track it.

As I rounded the corner, I found myself staring at a pair of yellow eyes and a sharp set of pointed teeth.

My eyes widened. "Alligator!" I howled as I raced back to the others. I had always heard of the urban myth that alligators lived in the sewers of New York but I never believed it. It sucks having even simple beliefs as that thrown back in your face.

I cowered behind Donnie as the creature walked towards us. After hearing my howl, the turtles had their weapons raise,d ready for the creature. However, they immediately lowered them when the creature stepped into the beam of the flashlight.

My eyes widened. The alligator was standing on two feet and wearing a white lab coat. What the heck? Did mutants just flourish in the sewers?

"Leatherhead," Donnie said with a grin, "Good to see you."

"Same to you," the alligator said before looking at me. "It seems you have a new pet."

I growled at him. How dare he call me a pet!

"Oh, this is Chloe," Donnie said, "It's a long story but she's actually a human who got turned into a dog." He looked at me. "You don't have to worry. Leatherhead is an old friend of ours."

I shook my head. I knew for a fact that alligators considered dogs a delicacy. They would even imitate the bark of a dog to entice dogs to them.

Friend or not, there was no way I was going to leave Donnie's side. I wasn't going to become some alligator's appetizer.

"So," Leo said, "what are you doing here?"

Leatherhead frowned. "The Foot seem to be prowling the sewers. When the power went out, I decided to leave my lair just in case they happened to stumble upon it."

"Aw man," Mikey groaned. "We have to deal with them now."

"That's not the only problem," Leatherhead said. "I've been analyzing the sewers and it seems some of the foundation has stress fractures. I'm not sure what has caused them but it is quite possible some of it might suddenly give out."

Leo was saying something but I found I couldn't focus on his voice. There was another sound that held my attention. I cocked my head. What was that sound? It almost sounded like something…cracking?

Donnie frowned. "Hey guys, do you hear something?"

That was the only warning we got before the floor collapsed.

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L.A.: Yes, I know, I really love cliffhangers. They keep things interesting though! On another note, Happy Nanowrimo! For those who are doing it, good luck! I have a few goals to accomplish in writing so I will be doing my own version of Nanowrimo. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	24. Underground

Underground

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L.A.: I know, it's been awhile but I'm still writing. That's good. Thanks for the amazing reviews. Here's the next chapter!

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I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. The world was swirling around me as colors danced at the edge of my vision. I felt I was watching the beginning of a 60's show. I grimaced as I closed my eyes. "Somebody let me off this ride," I said. I frowned when my voice came out as a growl. My eyes widened as I remembered. I had turned into a dog, we went out in search of the backup generator, ran into a creepy alligator that wanted to eat me, and had the floor collapse underneath us.

At least I had landed on something soft and warm. It even moved up and down in a rhythm that was nice and soothing. It made me so sleepy…

A moment later my eyes snapped open again as my brain processed what I had just thought. Since when did the ground move in a breathing like motion?

Glancing down, my eyes widened. I was lying on top of Donnie's chest. Apparently I fell on him. He was still unconscious. His face looked peaceful as he lay there.

I tried to roll off him but realized that something was pinning me down. Craning my neck, I glanced back to see what was causing the problem. My eyes widened. Apparently, while unconscious, Donnie had inadvertently wrapped his arm around me.

This situation should have been awkward but instead I found it rather amusing. In fact, I couldn't wait until he woke up and starting blushing and stuttering over it. I wondered if I should lick him just to add to the mortification.

I frowned. Great, my time as a dog had turned me into a slut.

Donnie groaned as he slowly cracked open his eyes. He looked at me with a glazed expression. "What are you doing?"

I glanced back at his arm.

The glazed look disappeared as he followed my gaze. He turned bright red as his arm flew off of me at warp speed. "I'm s-sorry." He said as I hopped off him. He sat up quickly before he winced and rubbed his head. "Ow," he muttered. "Why is it that when I'm with you, I always get into trouble?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," I barked.

He glanced above us. "How far did we fall?"

I glanced up. It looked as if we had fallen two stories. How the heck did we end up not breaking anything?

I looked back at him and noticed that he was fiddling with his shell cell.

"Leo?" He said.

His answer was static.

He turned a dial and tried again. "Raph?"

Still static.

He turned the dial again. "Mikey?"

Static.

With a sigh, he slammed the shell cell shut. "Looks like we're on our own."

I nodded my head as I watched him strap his duffle bag over his shoulder and pull out a flashlight.

With a flick of a switch, he turned it on and motioned me with it. "Come on."

I trotted after him.

As we walked, he said. "I think we're in the sub-level of the sewers." He let the beam of the flashlight trace the walls. "If I remember correctly, we need to head south. Eventually we'll find a ladder to the upper area."

I just kept nodding my head. I was still trying to understand how the sewers had something underneath them.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a faint bark. I stopped in my tracks as I cocked my head.

Donnie stopped walking and looked back at me and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

I was about to shake my head when I heard again. The faint bark... except this time it was louder.

I squinted as I strained to understand what the bark meant.

The bark was even louder this time. "Help!"

I took off after the sound with Donnie running behind me.

He was saying something but I blocked it out. I had to find the source of the sound. The bark sounded too familiar.

I stopped dead in my tracks at a cross roads. I cocked my head trying to find the sound.

"Are you okay?" Donnie asked worriedly.

He was about to ask me again when a loud howl interrupted us. Limping towards us looking slightly dazed was Aristotle.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw us. "Aw crud," he muttered.

A few foot ninjas appeared behind him.

They looked from Aristotle to Donnie and me.

"Aw, shell," He muttered as he pulled out his bo staff.

"Quick," I barked to Aristotle. "Get behind us!"

He looked at Donnie worriedly.

"Look," I said, "It's either the ninjas or us. Take your pick."

Aristotle took a glance back before racing toward us.

The foot ninjas ran toward Aristotle. Donnie quickly jumped and put himself between Aristotle and the ninjas.

As he fought them, I noticed that one had fallen back. He was holding up what looked like a gun and was aiming it at Aristotle. Without even thinking, I raced towards Aristotle and pushed him out of the way just as the gun fired.

A slight sting penetrated my shoulder. Glancing at it, my mind barely registered the tranquilizer sticking out of of my shoulder.

The last ninja was knocked unconscious as Donnie whirled around to face me. "Chloe?"

I realized I was human once more as I began to sway back and forth. I felt a blanket tossed over me as I looked up at his concerned face.

Feeling a little giddy, I draped my arms around his neck. The edges of my vision were starting to blur but I could tell that Donnie was surprised by my behavior.

"Are you okay?" He said, his voice echoing in my head.

"You're a nice turtle," I giggled as I nuzzled the crook of his neck. "So safe."

As my vision started to fade I saw Aristotle staring at me with a worried expression. As everything turned to black I heard Donnie's voice calling through the darkness. "Chloe?"

Then there was nothing but blissful darkness.

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L.A.: And you thought I forgot about Aristotle. Anyway, I shall leave you there. FYI if anyone hasn't seen _Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind_ they need to see it. It is amazing! Well, that's it. Tell me what you think!


	25. Cats and Dogs

Cats and Dogs

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L.A.: Okay, so I know I hadn't updated in awhile but that's because I'm in the middle of my exams and I'm sick. Blah, anyway, I had some downtime so I thought I would quickly upload the next chapter. Enjoy!

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"_Sarafina," A voice called in the darkness._

_I frowned as I tried to figure out where the voice was coming from._

"_Sarafina."_

_I was slightly annoyed that someone had disturbed my nap. Come to think of it, what had I been doing before then?_

_I remember a needle and…a turtle?_

"_Sarafina!"_

_My eyes snapped open as I found myself as a dog once more and in a cage. Looking around I noticed there were many other animals of all shapes and kinds trapped in cages as well._

"_What do you think they are going to do to us?" An aardvark asked an anteater._

"_Who knows," the anteater shrugged._

"_I want my mommy," A bat whined from somewhere over my head._

"_So how did they catch you?" a lynx asked._

_Glancing over at her, I realized that she was talking to me._

"_I'm not sure," I said, the words flowing out of my mouth. "What is this place?"_

_The lynx frowned. "We don't know. Everyone just calls it Death."_

_I cocked my head. "Death?"_

"_Yeah," she said. "Because once you go through those double doors over there, you never come back."_

_I glanced in the direction of the doors. They opened as two people in laboratory coats walked in._

_They walked straight toward my cage. The one on the left looked down at his clipboard. "Is this subject 008?"_

_The other nodded._

"_Then let's take it for testing."_

_I backed in my cage as I growled. Before I could bite them, a hand clamped down on my face._

* * *

I frowned as I turned over. Although my dream had been unpleasant, I still wanted to go back to sleep. A strange buzzing sound was keeping me awake. It took me a moment to realize that it was someone talking.

"I can't believe she's gone," the voice said with a sniff. "She was so young."

I felt small lumps fall on my face.

"We will miss you."

My eyes snapped open. Mikey was hovering over me while eating a bag of crackers.

I glared at him. "I am going to murder you in your sleep."

"Oh no," Mikey said with a fake scream. "She's turned into a psychotic zombie." He took off running.

"Get back here!" I said as I stood up. The world spun for a moment before it righted itself.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as I steadied myself.

"Easy there," Donnie said with a warm smile, "You've still have a little bit of the tranquilizer in your system."

My eyes widened as I remembered what happened. I unconsciously rubbed my arm. I really needed to stop being a damsel in distress. "Wait," I said as I frowned. "How is the power working?"

He sighed. "Believe it or not, Mikey was the one who found the backup generator. A couple minutes after you passed out and the foot vanished, I was able to get my communicator working. I told him how to do it and he figured it out."

"Wow," I said with a smirk. "Mikey's growing up."

"Yeah," Donnie said, "And soon pigs will be flying."

My eyes widened as an image of Aristotle flashed through my head. "What happened to Aristotle?"

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "You mean the dog? He's down stairs sleeping on the couch. In fact…"

He trailed off as I ran out of the room. I was pretty sure he was sighing and shaking his head at me.

I took two steps at a time before landing with a loud plop on the ground floor. As soon as I walked into the den, Klunk jumped in front of my feet.

"Geez," I yelped as I tried to prevent myself from falling on him.

"Satan," Klunk spat. "This is starting to get ridiculous. I came to somewhat accept you in my home even if I had reservations and none of my masters would listen to me and…"

"Klunk," I said with a slight growl as my eye twitched. "Get to the point."

Klunk hissed. "I will not allow for your minions to take over my home."

Aristotle peered over the top of the couch. "Can I please kill that creature? It's acting like an idiotic wimp."

Klunk whirled around and glared at him. "How dare you call me that, minion to Satan."

Aristotle cocked his head. "What the heck are you talking about, moron. I'm a dog not a minion."

"Idiot," Klunk hissed.

"Nitwit."

"Stupid."

"Imbecile"

"Dumb butt."

"Real mature," Aristotle rolled his eyes before looking at me. He frowned. "What are you doing?"

At the current moment, I was in the process of banging my head lightly against the wall. "Maybe," I muttered. "If I bang my head hard enough something will jar loose and I won't be able to understand you anymore."

I was about to bang my head again, when a hand was placed on my forehead. Looking up, I saw Raph watching me with a raised eye ridge. "No offense but if you keep hittin' your head like that, you're gonna be as dumb as Mikey."

"I heard that," Mikey yelled from down the hall.

"Maybe I should be as dumb as him," I said, "then I wouldn't have to deal with this."

I let Raph guide me to the sofa. Aristotle moved to the side, but not before he gave a quick glare at Raph. Apparently, he wasn't a fan of the turtles. I was glad that I wasn't there when they brought him in. That probably wasn't pretty.

"So," I said, "Are you going to teach me to punch today?"

Raph crossed his arms and shook his head. "No, you've still got to rest up. Plus, we've got practice." He gave a slight wave before heading to the dojo. "See ya later."

"Wait," I yelled as I looked over the sofa. "You guys are ditching me?"

"You'll survive," Raph said with a smirk.

I glanced at Leo and Mikey as they walked by. "You guys are really going to leave me to my boredom. You won't take me with you?"

"Just relax," Leo said.

"Yeah," Mikey grinned. "Nothing's going to happen to you while you're here."

"Uh, in case you haven't noticed, I'm danger prone." I said, "While you're busy training, I'll probably get kidnapped, or stabbed or poisoned…"

"Bye Chloe," Raph said as they began to walk away.

"Or bludgeoned or mutilated or decapitated…"

Donny walked by me on his way to the dojo. He paused for a moment as he listened to me ramble. "Are you about done?"

I glared at him. "You guys suck."

He just laughed as he walked away.

I sighed as I slid back into the sofa. I was not in the mood to watch TV. I had been feeling too much like a failure lately and the only way to feel better was by accomplishing something.

Glancing to my right, I saw Aristotle standing rigid as he peered cautiously around the sofa.

I sighed. "They aren't going to hurt you."

He looked back at me and blinked. "They're _human_.You can't trust humans."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Uh, they're turtles, not humans, right Klunk?"

Klunk had curled up in a ball near the television. He opened his eyes snorted. "They're humans in turtle costumes everyone knows that."

I rolled my eyes. "Look, if they were humans in turtle costumes then I would know. Plus, that would mean they had turtle feddishes which would be plain creepy if that were true."

"Then how come they can't speak our language?" Aristotle asked. "If they were turtles then they could."

"They freakin' mutated!" I said in exasperation, "What do you expect?"

Both Klunk and Aristotle continued to stare at me as if I were an idiot.

With a sigh, I pointed to myself. "What do you guys consider me then?"

Without hesitation, they both said. "A dog."

"Ugh!" I fell back into the couch in exasperation.

"Speaking of which," Aristotle continued, "I now realize that you aren't my dear friend Sarafina. She had much more poise than you."

"I have poise," I protested.

He acted as if I hadn't spoken. "So, what should I call you?"

"How 'bout Satan," Klunk muttered.

I shot him a glare before saying, "Just call me Chloe."

* * *

Watching TV with a cat and a dog is rather annoying. Normally I am not bothered by this but both of them kept asking me questions about the show, which was getting on my nerves. I guess they were really enjoying the fact that they had someone to translate for them.

I nearly cried out with joy when Lindsey finally arrived.

"Hey," She said as she walked up with a bag in hand. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

"Well, currently I'm not allowed to do anything because there might be some traces of the tranquilizer in my system, I'm bored out of my mind, and I am translating a soap opera for a dog and a cat." I sighed, "So, I'm okay."

"Okay," she said as she slowly nodded her head. "No sugar for you." She stared at Aristotle curiously.

He was standing rigid as he glared at her.

I rolled my eyes. "She's not going to eat you, you freak!"

"Humanity can't be trusted," he muttered as he relaxed slightly. He was still watching her intently.

"Don't mind him, he's cynical," I said as I turned back to her, "So what's going on up on the surface?"

She hesitated for a moment before saying. "Your parents are back."

"Oh," I said as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I hated to admit it but I had kind of forgotten about them.

"Yeah, apparently they couldn't get good reception where they were so they just found out today," Lindsey continued.

"How did they take it?"

She smirked slightly. "Your mom's pissed and your dad is trying to raise the National Guard to aid in your search."

I couldn't help but be touched by their reactions. Granted, I didn't want them to be upset and I highly doubted my dad could convince the entire National Guard to search for one missing girl but, it was nice to hear they were worried about me.

A sharp pang ran through my heart as I realized I sort of missed them. I, however, tried to laugh it off. "Why am I not surprised."

"Yeah, they grilled me to death with questions," Lindsey said with a laugh. "Plus, it doesn't help that my mom is suspicious with my sudden mood change."

I grinned mischievously. "You mean you can't even act sad, Lindsey I'm surprised."

She shrugged. "What can I say? It's hard to act sad about your best friend's disappearance when she hasn't really disappeared." Her attention drifted towards Klunk. "So I finally get to meet the infamous Klunk," She held out her hand as she whistled. "Here kitty. Come here boy."

I winced as Klunk gave me a death glare.

"Now you've got the humans acting like I'm one of you," he let out a yowl. "I can't handle this!"

He quickly ran out of the room.

Lindsey looked at me in confusion. "What was that about?"

I sighed. "Don't worry about it. Klunk's just having an identity crisis."

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Okay, so nice long chapter so that you wouldn't kill me. Since I'm sick and I'm still in exams, it's going to be awhile before I update again. Anyway, tell me what you think.


	26. Fighting Lessons and an Idea

Fighting Lessons and an Idea

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L.A.: Hey everyone! I am finally done with exams. Thanks to fantasyfan17 for the cheer! And another thanks to all my reviewers! You are amazing. Now to the next chapter!

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The next day while Don was busy testing samples of my blood for traces of the tranquilizer, I battled alongside Mikey in an all out war on Jurassic Park. That was the only game we could play since most of his other games had too much blood and gore. Strangely, cartoon violence freaks me out more than real life. Go figure.

"Wow," Raph said as Leo and he stood behind the couch watching. "Chloe's pretty good at this game."

"She's not good," Mikey said, "She's just trigger happy."

"Am not," I said as I quickly shot a glare at Mikey.

"Oh yeah," he said, "then how come when that guy came towards us screaming help as he was being chased by raptors, you shot him down?"

"Because, he could have been a dinosaur in disguise," I said like it was the obvious thing in the world. "We do not know what the dinosaurs are capable of. Ever seen Jurassic Park 3? Those raptors are way too smart for their own good." I grinned. "Plus, his voice sounded weird. Nobody sounds like that. Therefore he was a dinosaur or an alien."

"It's a videogame," Mikey whined, "You don't shoot a person because they sound funny. If you do that then you lose a life."

"Aw," I smirked, "am I messing wittle Mikey's high score?"

"Hey," Mikey said, "Don't make fun of me. Gaming is good for my ninjitsu skills."

"Good news," Donnie said as he entered the room, "You're blood test came out good…"

"Awesome," I said as I sprung to my feet. "Now Raph can teach me how to punch."

"Wha…?" Raph said as I dragged him towards the dojo.

"You promised you were so, you're teaching me now," I said as we came to a stop in front of the punching bag.

Raph sighed. "Okay, fine. Show me your punch."

I quickly jabbed at the air. "How was that?"

"Fine," Raph smirked. "If ya want to break your finger."

He took my hand in his and manipulated it so that my thumb was next to the nails on my index and middle finger. He pushed the knuckles of these exact same fingers forward. "If you punch like this then you're less likely to break your thumb. Plus, the knuckles are a pretty hard bone. A well placed hit and you can do some pretty bad damage."

"Sweet," I said as I tried to memorize the position.

"Alright," Raph said as he crossed his arms. "I want to see you punch the bag so I can see where you're commin' from but…"

I punched the bag before he could finish. The bag lurched forward before swinging back and nailing me in the chest.

"...you need to stand clear cause the bag bounces back." He winced as I bent over to catch my breath.

As I wheezed I started to move away from the bag.

"Where you going?" Raph asked.

"I don't like that bag," I said after I finally caught my breath. "It plays dirty."

"Come back, Chloe," Raph laughed. "I'll hold it this time."

I gave him a suspicious glare but reluctantly complied.

Thirty minutes later, I was sweating buckets but mighty proud of myself. Raph had not only improved my punching but also made it easier for me. It turned out that I was over-exerting myself in my punches. Now, I felt as if I could take on the world.

I stopped in my tracks when I noticed a backpack lying forlornly in a corner. I knew without a doubt that it was Lindsey's.

Which meant, that since she wasn't hanging out with me, she was training with Leo in the dojo. I wonder if those two ever got tired of sword training. Granted, I wanted to learn how to fight with swords, I just couldn't put in the dedication those two had.

I was about to head to the dojo when Donnie's called to me from his lab.

When I entered the lab, I saw him hovering over a microscope. Grabbing a rolling chair, I straddled it backwards and rolled towards him. "What's up?"

He glanced at me. "Don't get your hopes up yet but I might be able to cure you."

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yeah, my guess is that they haven't developed a machine that can actually splice your genes. Instead, I think they used a drug containing the dog DNA and injected it into your blood stream. When your body absorbed the drug, it started to re-program my body."

I raised an eyebrow. "Re-program me…Like a robot?"

He smirked. "In a sense. Your brain sends signals to your growth plates to tell them when to grow and when to stop. My guess is that the drug intercepted these waves and confused your growth plates. So, instead of telling you to grow like a human, the waves were telling you to grow like a dog."

"That's…weird," I said. It was also depressing. It meant that my body was agreeing with the animals about me being a dog.

"Yeah," He said as his eyes shined with excitement. "And quite amazing. I mean to create such a drug to mutate the body. You could clear so many birth defects and the scientific applications involved would be…"

"Ahem," I said as I glared at him. "Can you stop praising the freaks who did this to me?"

Donnie grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, if I can isolate the drug in your bloodstream, I might be able to create an antidote that could correct the signals your growth plates are receiving."

"In other words, you'll re-program my body."

He nodded. "Yep."

I hugged his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You're a genius, Donny!"

He rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed. "It's not that big of a deal."

I was literally bubbling with excitement. I couldn't believe that there was an actual _chance_ for me to return to normal.

With a skip to my step, I quickly headed towards the dojo to tell Lindsey.

* * *

L.A.: And I shall end there but there is a reason why. Also, the fighring stuff came from my dad. He went to military school when he was a kid so hopefully that is correct. Anyway, don't worry, this story is far from over. (grins mischievously) This story wouldn't be fun without a little drama, now would it? Anyway, tell me what you think!


	27. It's a Long Story

It's a Long Story…

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L.A.: Hello everyone! Sorry I've been busy. Happy belated Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and for those who don't, Happy Holidays. Also, for the month of January, I will be in Australia on an Aboriginal studies program with my school. Because of where I will be, I will have no internet connection which means no updates. Sad, I know, but hopefully I will get in one more before I leave. Anyway, this one is short but will hopefully be interesting.

* * *

With a slight skip in my step, I walked quickly towards the dojo. I couldn't wait to see the look on Lindsey's face when I told her the news. As I turned the corner, I noticed that the dojo's door was open a crack. Not wanting to startle them from whatever they were doing, I walked as quietly as I could towards the door.

As I reached the door, I frowned. For two people who were training, they were awfully quiet. Curious, I peeked through the crack in the door and felt the breath catch in my throat. My mouth dropped as my eyes went bug-eyed.

Well how would you react if you just walked in on your best friend and your friend who is like a brother kissing?

My hands went to my mouth as I took a couple of steps away from the dojo. Leo and Lindsey were kissing.

I walked numbly to the den as I frowned.

Leo and Lindsey were kissing? What the heck was going on around here?

I knew there was one person I could go to in a time like this.

"DONNIE!" I yelled as I bolted towards his lab.

I nearly plowed into Mikey but was able to avoid him in time. He said something but I didn't hear it. My only focus was on getting to the lab.

As I entered the lab, I slammed the door shut behind me.

Donnie immediately turned and glared at me. "How many times do I have to tell you to not slam the door? I have delicate work going on around here."

He paused as he saw me leaning against the door and panting heavily. "What the shell happened to you?"

Taking a deep breath, I said. "You might want to sit down."

Donnie raised an eyebrow.

"No seriously, you really probably want to sit down," I said as I straightened myself up.

He sighed as he sat down. "Okay, I'm listening."

"I saw Lindsey and Leo kissing," I blurted out. Okay, so I'm obviously not good at this whole breaking it easily thing.

"What!" Donnie said as he quickly stood up. "That's crazy!"

"I know," I said as my hand went to my forehead. "I still think I am in shock."

"But Leo?" Donnie said as he started to pace. "Him? Out of all of us, I didn't expect him to be the first to actually pursue a romantic relationship." He paused in his pacing and shuddered. "This is too weird."

"It's weird for you?" I laughed, "Uh, my best friend who is like my sister and your brother who happens to be like a brother to me were kissing. It's beyond weird. It's freaky."

Donnie's lips quirked. "Yeah, yet it's kind of funny." Seeing my glare, he continued. "No really. Out of all of us the teacher's pet is the one who got in a relationship first."

I nodded. "Yeah I guess, and since Lindsey is my best friend, it is my obligation to mock her." I sighed. "Great, now this is freaky, funny, and confusing."

"Donnie! Chloe!" April called. "Dinner's ready. Are you guys coming?"

I frowned. "Is April staying over for dinner?"

Donnie smacked his head. "I completely forgot. All of us were having dinner tonight." He sighed. "This is going to be awkward."

"I'm not going to be able to look them in the face without laughing." Seeing his confused expression, I elaborated. "I kind of giggle uncontrollably when I feel awkward or nervous."

"Shell," Donnie sighed.

"Chloe, Donnie!" April called.

Donnie grabbed my hand as he dragged me towards the door. "Come on, let's try to get through this."

As we exited the lab, we ran right into Lindsey and Leo.

Immediately, I turned away from them, determined to not break into my awkward laughter.

"Oh, hey guys," Leo said. "Are you going to dinner?"

Glancing at Donnie, I saw his eye twitch. "Yeah, heh, heh," He snickered. "Uh, see you later." He promptly dragged me to the table.

"What was that?" I hissed.

"Apparently, your stupid remark about laughing when you're nervous has affected me too."

I snickered. "Okay, now we definitely have to sit next to each other just to keep ourselves sane."

* * *

The dinner was harder than I thought. Besides that fact that I couldn't look at Leo or Lindsey without risking laughter, now it seemed that when Donnie and I looked at each other we would start laughing uncontrollably. It was like we had reverted back to five year old versions of ourselves.

"Hey Leo," Lindsey said shyly. "How do you like the mash potatoes? I helped make them."

Unable to resist, I leaned towards Donnie and whispered. "I would say that he enjoyed it. In fact, I bet he went back for seconds and thirds."

Donnie, who was in the midst of drinking water, sprayed it everywhere as he burst out laughing.

"Are you okay, my son?" Master Splinter asked worriedly.

Donnie nodded as he tried to calm himself down. Once he was calm, he whispered. "Okay, I'll admit it. That was a good one."

We both started to snicker again.

Glaring suspiciously at us, Mikey said rather loudly. "Do we need to separate those two?"

Being the perverts we were, Donnie and I looked at each other and burst out laughing again.

Slightly annoyed, Raph said. "What is so funny?"

"It's a long story," I said in between laughs.

"Yeah, you wouldn't get it," Donnie added.

After we calmed down, the conversation resumed. I risked a glance to look in Leo and Lindsey's direction. I saw them glance shyly in each others' direction.

Donnie leaned towards me and sang quietly. "And they call it Bella Notte."

Unable to stand it any longer, I excused myself from the table as I quickly ran to my room. I knew that Donnie would soon be running to his lab because he wouldn't be able to last long without me. Halfway there, I was unable to hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Why the heck was this so funny? I mean, I was supposed to be freaked out but now, the whole idea of Leo and Lindsey kissing seemed hilarious.

I knew in the back of my mind that it was possible for Lindsey and one of the turtles to have a romantic relationship. I mean, they weren't related and the turtles were pretty much humans, in turtle form.

But still, Leo?

It was just crazy.

Once in the safety of my room, I let out a sigh. I started slightly as something jumped in front of me.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Aristotle asked.

I frowned. "Have you been hiding in my room all day?" I really hoped not because I really didn't want to find that he had left me little presents.

"That's beside the point," he said. "What happened?"

My mind went back to earlier and I snickered. "Oh, it's a long story…"

* * *

L.A.: So, the Lindsey/ Leo thing. Are you feeling confused? Are you feeling like where the heck did that come from? That there was no development of the relationship. Well if so, congratulations that is how you are supposed to feel. This is from Chloe's perspective so since she didn't know about it, neither did you. Perhaps at one point, I'll do a separate one shot showing what happen in the dojo but for now, I'll let you imagine. This scene is important to the story for the chapters to come. This message was put for those readers who I know will ask me why I didn't show the relationship sooner or develop it, etc. Though, don't think that means you can't tell me your opinion. I would love to hear it, I just don't want a thousand pms asking me these questions. Anyway, if you don't care about this, then disregard the message and have a lovely day. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	28. Chick Fight!

Chick Fight!

* * *

L.A.: So, I'm finally back from Australia! It was pretty interesting. I got to pet a kangaroo and see a black swan! Anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

It's been a week since the incident and I'm still having trouble looking Leo or Lindsey in the eye without giggling. Luckily, working with Donnie, fighting lesions with Leo, and training with Master Splinter have been keeping me busy.

I can't believe the guys go through training everyday and still have energy. After my practice, in which I am still learning the basic moves, I'm sweating like a pig and look like I'm at death's door.

Donnie tells me it's cause I need a better diet. I remind him about his coffee problems and he shuts up. Which reminds me, I still need to figure out where Donnie's new hiding spot for his coffee stash is.

Anyway, after practice, I was able to kick back, relax, and enjoy some good old fashion television. I was watching Samantha Who? while eating a bag of salt and vinegar chips when Lindsey came in.

"Hey," she said as she plopped down beside me.

"Hey," I said before shoving a handful of chips in my mouth.

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bag of chips?"

I swallowed before answering innocently. "Yes."

"Didn't you eat a bag of chips yesterday?"

"Your point?"

Lindsey sighed. "Chloe! That is so unhealthy."

"No, it's not," I said defiantly. "I'm a growing girl…er, dog…er, girl dog, so I have a high metabolism."

Lindsey shook her head. "It doesn't matter. A diet like that can affect you in the long run.

"Hey," I protested. "I'm like…112 in dog years. I look pretty good for my age."

Lindsey groaned. "I give up. Besides, I didn't come here to fight." She looked around the room quickly before whispering. "I have something I want to talk to you about."

Uh oh, when Lindsey said in a conspiratorial voice 'I've got something I want to talk to you about' it meant she was going to tell me a secret. And, I was pretty sure I knew what that secret was. Still, according to best friend's etiquette, I was forced to listen. So, I leaned towards her and tried to sound interested.

"And what exactly do you want to talk to me about?"

"Lindsey looked away from me and started to fidget with her shirt. "Last week something sort of happened. When Leo and I were in the dojo, we accidentally…sort of…kissed."

I giggled as the mental image popped into my mind. That hadn't look like an accident to me.

Lindsey frowned. "What was that?"

I tried to look innocent. "What was what?"

She glared at me. "You just laughed."

I raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, what is so funny about Leo and me kissing?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just can't see you two together."

Lindsey crossed her arms. "And why not?"

"Well," I said as I tried to figure out why she was so defensive. "For one thing, he is a turtle."

"Oh," She said sarcastically. "Is that it, huh? Then how come you get to like him?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like like him. He's like a brother to me." I smirked slightly. "And, you know, it's weird to hear my brother and my best friend kissed."

I must have said something wrong because the next second she was standing. Her face was bright red as she yelled. "Oh, I see how it is. You are such a selfish brat. You found yourself your perfect little family and now you don't want anyone else to enter because they may change."

My eye twitched as I stood up as well and yelled. "What the heck are you talking about? That's not it at all! Besides, you're one to talk. You kept this from everyone for a week. Ever watched Dr. Phil? Relationships cannot be based on secrets."

At that point, Mikey choose to enter the room. Seeing us both yelling, he grinned and said. "Oh, chick fight."

"Shut up, Mikey!" Lindsey and I yelled before turning back to each other

"Ugh, I should have known not to come to you. You don't care about these kinds of problems."

"Um, hello?" I said with exasperation. "I'm your friend. Of course I care. I just don't like the fact that I had to find out a week ago but you didn't bother to tell me until today."

Her eyes widened. "You knew? You spied on us?"

"I did not," I said. "Besides why does it matter to you how I found out?"

"That's it," she said as she stomped away from me. "I'm leaving."

"Fine," I said as I crossed my arms. I wasn't going to stop her not when she was in this kind of mood.

She stopped and turned back to glare at me. "For your information we are both still confused. We don't know what to do yet."

"Weren't you leaving?" I asked sarcastically. Sure, it wasn't the nicest remark in the world but at the moment I didn't care.

She stuck her chin out defiantly. "I am now."

"Fine," I said.

"Fine," she said as she left the lair and slammed the door behind her.

I nearly started when I noticed both Mikey and Raph staring at me. Raph must have entered the room when I wasn't paying attention.

With a confused expression on his face, Raph said, "What the shell is going on here?"

I abruptly turned away from him. "I need to be productive," I said before stomping towards Don's lab. When I reached the lab, I slammed the door behind me, relishing in the loud noise.

Donnie turned around and glared at me. "What did I say about slamming the door…" He trailed off when he noticed me walking purposely towards a pole with nails sticking out of it.

"Do these need to be hammered?" I asked as I reached for the hammer.

"Yes, but…"

He didn't get to finish before I started to slam the hammer into the nails.

With each pound of the nail, I tried to release some of my anger with it. Lindsey was wrong. I wasn't afraid of the turtles changing. Heck, if they were sure about it, I would encourage them to pursue a relationship. Still, when I thought about it my stomach turned with anxiety. I just couldn't see the turtles dating anyone. I wasn't saying that someone couldn't fall in love with them but it seemed strange.

I paused in the middle of a swing at this thought. Did that make me prejudice? I didn't think so since I loved the turtles and Master Splinter dearly. Probably more than normal people love one another. This could of course, have been the dog part of me, but I got angry at the idea of seeing any of the turtles or Master Splinter hurt.

So, where did that leave me? I knew I was afraid of change. I liked things to be stable in my life so when something was off, it annoyed me. So, maybe somewhere deep down, I was afraid of the turtles dating because there would be change.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I pounded another nail in. I hated when Lindsey was right.

I was so engrossed in hammering that I failed to notice Donnie reaching for the hammer. "Give me the hammer before you hurt someone," he said as he grabbed the head of it. Reluctantly, I let it go. "Now," he said, "You want to tell me what's wrong?"

Nothing," I muttered, wishing he would give me my hammer back.

Don wasn't convinced. "Something is bugging you."

"Well," I said, "You did take my hammer."

He studied me for a moment. "I've got an idea that might cheer you up." He grabbed my hand and proceeded to drag me.

"Does it involve giving me my hammer?"

Donnie didn't answer as he dragged me deeper into the lab.

* * *

L.A.: See, there is a reason why Lindsey and Leo kissed. I guess there is a method to my madness. And I wonder what Donnie has in store… Anyway tell me what you think.


	29. There Need to be More Gentlemen in the W

There Need to Be More Gentlemen in the World

* * *

L.A.: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with school and the flu decided to attack me last week. Anyway, here is the next chapter!

* * *

I raised an eyebrow as Don proudly pointed to the object he had dragged me across the lab to see. "You wanted to show me the motorcycle made of trash?"

Donny shook her head. "Remember, how I said that I would prove to you that this wasn't a piece of junk." He hopped onto the bike. "I figured now was as good of a time as any."

I looked at him in disbelief. "You can ride a motorcycle?"

He nodded.

"No, seriously, you can ride a motorcycle?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?" He asked.

"No offence, Donny but you're a nerd." I said. "I mean you can't be like: I like calculus! It's so cool! Check out this oscilator… oh, by the way I drive motorcycles."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you honestly believe I would let my own brothers test something out that I haven't first?"

I nodded. That did make sense. Donnie was always looking out for his family with his inventions. It would probably kill him, if one of them was inadvertently hurt by his inventions.

He sighed. "Just don't tell Raph, okay? He would be angry if he found out I didn't let him test out my bikes first."

I nodded. "Sure, I won't tell."

He grinned. "Good, now grab a helmet and hop on behind me." I did as I was told. As I strapped my helmet on, he added. "And I never said Calculus was cool. I just said that it was useful in real life situations."

"Nerd," I said as I wrapped my arms around him to steady myself.

He ignored me as he started up the engine.

* * *

Personally, I have never been interested in motorcycles. Yes, they make you feel cool when you're standing next to one but my interests in them pretty much stopped there. However, riding with Donnie, I could see why someone would fall in love with a motorcycle. Having the wind rush by you as a slight chill ran up your spine just made the adrenaline run wild. It also helped that Donnie was a careful driver, not that I expected him to be reckless. He went fast enough that it was enjoyable but not so fast that we had to worry about crashing. After a few moments, we pulled to a stop in front of Central Park.

I was still grinning as I hopped off the bike.

"Having fun?" He asked with a cheeky grin.

I hit him playfully. "Maybe, but shouldn't we get back?"

He shrugged. "I don't know about you but I was getting a little tired with being cooped up in there. A little time out here couldn't hurt."

I nodded. I had been feeling the same way over the past few days.

For night time, it was rather pleasant. There was only a slight chill and the wind had died down. Glancing to my right, I saw a lone hot dog stand underneath a lamp post. Without thinking, I grabbed Donnie's hand and dragged him towards it.

"Chloe…" He started.

"Don't worry," I said. "Lindsey gave me some emergency cash. We can use it."

"But…"

It was too late. I was already at the counter placing my order for a hot dog and a soda. It was when the cashier was giving us a funny look that I remembered. I was a girl with dog ears and tail and I was hanging out with a giant bi-pedal turtle.

"Uh, we're going to an anime convention," I blurted out.

The cashier whistled. "Man, you guys sure go all out for those things."

"What can I say, we're hardcore," I said with a grin. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Donnie shake his head.

"Aren't you going to order anything?" I asked innocently.

He sighed. "I guess." He then placed his order.

Once we paid, we took our food and began to wander around Central Park looking for a nice bench. I knew I should have felt scared at this point. I mean, walking at Central Park in the middle of the night was creepy. It might have been that I was a dog girl walking with a ninja turtle and if any wacko saw us they would stay away thinking we were crazy. Or, it could have been the fact that whenever I was around Donnie, I always felt safe. Whatever the reason, I was enjoying strolling through Central Park. It was like we had the whole park to ourselves.

We finally settled for a bench near the lake. After a couple of minutes of eating, Donnie spoke up. "So, you want to tell me why you were angry?"

I glared at him. "Why did I know that you were going to bring that up again?"

"Because I am a scientist and am naturally curious."

"Or nosey," I sighed. "Okay fine, I had a fight with Lindsey. It was stupid really. She told me about Leo and wanted advice and I said I just didn't see them together. She ended up freaking." I turned to him. "I mean, she acted like she didn't understand the whole thing."

"And that's bad because…"

"Because, I don't know, I feel like when you're going to date someone it's because you know you like them. If there's hesitancy then it probably won't work out."

"So what," Donnie said. "You're saying that's how you know?"

"In a way," I paused as I tried to figure out what I was trying to say. "I guess how I know I can date someone is when I can feel comfortable with them. I talk to them like they're a close friend and there's none of that awkwardness when we lapse into silence. I can share stuff with him without either of us freaking out…" I trailed off as I noticed his hot dog. "Is that relish?"

He glanced at his hot dog before nodding. "Yeah, you want to try it?"

I nodded as I took the hot dog from him, took a bite then handed it back. "It tastes weird."

"It's relish," Donnie said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Anyway, what was I saying?"

"How you know you can date someone," Donnie said.

"Oh, yeah," I grinned mischievously. "And how I know it's really going to work is if he can make me laugh no matter how I'm feeling. That's the clincher." I took a sip of my drink before glancing at him. "So, what about you? You know when you can date someone?"

Donnie threw his napkin in the trashcan as he frowned. "You know, I've never really thought about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on. We both know you have a crush on April."

He blushed. "You know?"

"Everyone knows," I said. "But that's beside the point."

He sighed. "Well, yeah I kind of did but we all sort of did. She was the first female we ever got to talk to. But, you know, I never really thought of it as ever turning into a relationship." He motioned to himself. "I mean look at me. I'm a five foot bi-pedal turtle. I'm not really dating material."

"I don't know," I said. "There could be a girl at the anime convention who is really turned on by turtles."

He glared. "Not funny."

I grinned as I leaned back and laid my head on his shoulder. He stretched his arms out on the bench to make both him and me more comfortable. "But seriously, Don. There need to be more guys out there like you."

"Yeah, right," He said.

"I'm serious. There need to be more guys out there willing to give girls motorcycle rides just because they feel down and are willing to tolerate you when you accidentally blow up the engine to the Battle Shell."

"Which reminds me," Don said with a frown. "You're still not allowed near it."

"What I'm saying," I said. "is that you're a real gentleman. It's hard to find those now a days." I looked away from him. "Don't ever change, okay?"

"Yeah," he said with a slight grin. "Okay."

I sighed as I looked up at the moon. "The full moon is pretty."

He nodded. "Yeah, you know that the full moon is caused when the sun light is hitting it directly full on. We can't see the sun, of course because it's on the other side of the earth but it still is able…"

"Donnie?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Just enjoy the moon."

* * *

L.A.: Yeah! And you all thought I forgot about the motorcycle. I don't know why but I love this chapter so much. I know Donnie never rode a motorcycle in the series but I always wondered. If Don is so protective of his family why does he let Raph try all of his vehicles first? Then I thought, maybe it's because he secretly tests them out so that when Raph does, the kinks are worked out. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	30. Plans and Accidents

Plans and Accidents

* * *

L.A.: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with lots of work and one of my friends passed away the other day so I haven't been in the mood. Anyway enjoy.

* * *

The following day I called Lindsey and asked her over. Within minutes of arriving, we both broke down and apologized. She and I have never been able to stay mad at each other for long.

Mikey freaked out and left the room, believing we had gone too girly on him.

After our heart to heart, Lindsey decided to help me with a new plan I had concocted.

Operation: Get Aristotle Out of My Room

Because frankly, the fact that he hid in my room all the time kind of creeped me out.

"So why do you exactly need me?" Lindsey asked.

"He needs someone else to bond with," I said with a grin. "And since I like you, he's bound to like you."  
"Aw thanks," Lindsey said.

"Stop being so girly," Mikey groaned as he came up to us with a bag of cheetos. "Seriously, it's annoying."

"Dude, we're girls," I said. "Deal with it." I frowned. "And why aren't you watching tv?"

Mikey shrugged. "There's nothing good on. Plus, I want to see your plan back fire."

"When have my plans ever back fired?" I asked.

Lindsey gave me a look. "Do I have to count?"

"Okay fine," I said. "But this time it will work." I knocked on my door. "Aristotle, do you want to come out?"

"No," He said grumpily from the other side of the door.

"There's food and people out here that want to worship and adore you."

"Go away," Aristotle said.

Mikey snorted. "Fail." He turned and walked towards the couch.

"Okay," I said. "This isn't working. We need to come up with a new plan of action."

"Fine," Lindsey said with a smirk. "Just let me get a soda." She stood up and ran right into Leo.

An awkward silence fell over us as Leo and Lindsey turned five different shades of red. "U-uh s-sorry," Lindsey stammered.

"No it's fine," Leo said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I should get going."

"Bye" Lindsey said as she waved her hand sheepishly.

"Wow," I said causing her to start and turn back to me. "I felt like didn't even exist there for a couple of minutes."

"What are you talking about?" Lindsey asked innocently.

"Have you guys even talked about what happened?" I asked.

Lindsey looked down at the ground as she dragged her foot across the floor.

"What?" I said. "Okay, you are going to go after him and talk."

Lindsey looked up. "But, I thought…"

I sighed. "You are my best friend and he's like a brother. I want you guys happy even if it creeps me out." I shoved her in the direction Leo went. "Now go."

She sent me a grateful look before walking away.

The door to my room opened as Aristotle peeked out. "It seems you were abandoned."

I looked at him as an evil grin appeared on my face. Grabbing the scruff of his neck, I said, "Glad to see you come out. Come meet your roommates."

"No!!!!" He howled as I dragged him after me.

* * *

By some miracle I was actually able to get Aristotle to somewhat accept Mikey. This was probably because Mikey kept feeding him junk food and petting him while he watched tv. Growing bored with them and anxious to hear back from Lindsey, I decided to wander towards Donnie's lab again.

I found him in the midst of working on the engine of the battle shell.

"Hey Donnie," I said as I leaned over him. "Whatcha doing?"

He looked up and glared. "You aren't allowed near the engine."

"Aw come on," I whined. "I'm bored." I gave him a puppy dog look. "There has to be something I can do?"

Donnie sighed as he slammed the hood shut. "Fine, I'm working on the under carriage next. You can help me with that."

"Yeah!" I said as I jumped up and down.

"But you are doing exactly what I say," He said as he handed me a wrench. "Got it?"

"Yes sir," I said as I gave him a mock salute.

He smirked. "Very funny now go get a dolley."

And so for the next fifteen minutes, I learned about the under carriage. Although it was fun working beside Donnie while I tweaked loose parts, it was really hot underneath there. I was sweating like a pig and had black streaks all over me.

I giggled at the image in my mind's eye. I probably looked like a creature from the black lagoon.

Glancing over at Donnie, I saw that he was looking at me with a strange expression.

"What?" I said as I frowned. "Is there something wrong with my face?"

To my surprise, his face turned red. "Uh, it's nothing. I just need to get something." He sat up and whacked his head into the undercarriage.

I grimaced as he fell back down, his hand coming to his head. "Ow."

"Did you forget that we were under a car?" I asked as we both slid out from under the battle shell.

Donnie just groaned as he held his head.

"Alright," I said as I directed him to a chair. "Let me see it."

His face turned a deeper shade of red. "It's not that big of a deal."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being a baby and let me see." I moved his hand and winced again. "Yikes, that's a big bump." Donnie looked as if he had grown a horn. "I'll go get some ice."

I left before he could protest.

As I entered the kitchen, I nearly ran into April. "Oh, hi April," I said as I hurriedly made an ice bag.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Donnie hit his head," I looked at her. "Actually, could you check it out? I don't trust Donnie self-diagnosing himself."

"Yeah sure," she said as she followed after me.

Donnie had just stood up when we entered.

I glared. "Sit back down and put this ice pack on his head."

Donnie's face turned red again as I shoved him back in his chair and held the icepack to his head.

I glanced at April and saw she had a knowing smile on her face. I always hated people when they do that. It meant they knew something that I didn't.

"Can I take a look at that?" April asked.

I nodded as I stepped back.

Donnie sighed. "Really, it's not that big of a deal. Chloe is just over reacting."

"You look like you grew a horn!" I said. With an evil grin, I patted him on the shoulder. "Now be a good patient and listen to Dr. April."

Donnie's face went a deeper shade of red as he looked away.

I left them, slightly confused. Since when did Donnie become so easily embarrassed? I didn't get a chance to think about it since I noticed Lindsey staring at us curiously from the doorway. Immediately, I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the hall.

"So," I said.

"We're going to try it out and see how it goes," Lindsey said with a slight smile. "But you can't tell anyone yet."

"Cool," I said forcing a smile on my face.

Lindsey raised an eyebrow.

"I know I should have more enthusiasm but it still seems weird," I frowned. "That reminds me. I better tell Don not to say anything."

"He knows?"

"Yeah," I grinned sheepishly. "I kind of freaked out when I saw you two and ran to Donnie and told him the whole thing. Sorry."

"Oh well, can't be helped." Lindsey said.

"And Master Splinter probably already knows," I said. "You know, since he knows everything."

"So, over half know," Lindsey said.

I patted her back. "Good luck, keeping a secret. It won't last long in this house."

She shoved me playfully. "Whatever." An evil grin crossed her face. "You know what I find really interesting?"

I frowned. "What?"

"The fact that you went to Donnie, first" Lindsey said. "And, the fact that you both kept it a secret from the others."

"So," I said. "I thought you didn't want us to tell anyone."

"Yes, but it's interesting that you went to _Donnie_," Lindsey said with a grin.

I looked at her in confusion. "Why does it matter that I went to Donnie?"

Lindsey rolled her eyes in frustration. "Seriously Chloe, sometimes you can be so dense."

"What's that supposed to mean," I said as she ran away laughing.

Seriously, first April and now Lindsey. What the heck did they know that I didn't?

* * *

L.A.: That's the end of this chapter. Tell me what you think!


	31. Realization

Realization

* * *

L.A.: Sorry for the delay. School is hectic but I only have a few more weeks and then I'm done! Yeah! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

I have to say, I was quiet proud of myself at the moment. I think Aristotle was starting to like the turtles. Granted, it was taking a long time and sometimes I had a strong urge to bang my head into a wall.

At least he wasn't sitting in my room anymore.

He now spent most of his time hanging out with Mikey and eating whatever he dropped. He told me he only hung out with Mikey because he was a klutz and an idiot. I knew better.

A green hand waved in front of my face. I blinked as I glanced over at Don. "You say something?"

"I asked you to hand me a wrench," Donnie said, not taking his eyes of his project.

I was glad to see that Donnie was back to his old self. He still had a bump on his head but it was wrapped nicely. Still, I couldn't help but giggle at how it happened. Donnie hadn't been too thrilled with me.

"Here," I said as I handed him a wrench. "Say, since you are in your zone right now, mind if I take a break?"

"Maybe I should switch the wires so that I can get a better connection," He muttered.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes."

"Or maybe I should reconfigure the entire board," Donnie scratched his head.

"Donnie," I grinned, "don't look now but someone just left you ten bags of coffee!" I waved my arms around. "Isn't that amazing?"

Donnie shook his head. "No, I should just start out with switching the wires."

I sighed. "Yeah, you're not even going to notice if I disappear."

I left him to his work. Lindsey had left a while back and naturally Leo offered to accompany her. I was pretty sure there was more than 'accompanying' going on and I planned to tease him about it later.

So, out of boredom, I decided to peak into Raph's room. He was sprawled out on his bed reading a magazine.

"Hey Raph!" I said as I entered his room.

He raised an eye ridge. "Did I say you could come in?"

"No," I said as I sat on the corner of his bed. "But you'll live."

He sighed as he flipped a page. "What do ya want?"

"I have come to give you your daily ray of sun shine," I said happily.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I think you're on drugs."

"Wow," I said sarcastically, "I can see that you think really high of me."

Raph smirked which meant I amused him.

"So," I said as I stood back up. "Want to teach me to fight tonight?"

"Ya haven't grown tired of it yet?" Raph asked. "After bein' hit by that bag so much…"

"I will beat that bag," I said with arms crossed. "You'll see."

Raph snorted. "Yeah when pigs fly."

I stuck my tongue out at him before leaving the room.

Now that I had bugged Raph, I was once again bored. I was tempted to go find Mikey but I was afraid that I might upset the delicate relationship that was forming between Aristotle and him. Resigned, I decided to head back to Donnie's lab. I was in mid-step when I pitched forward and lost consciousness.

* * *

_I was in the lab again as my dog self. There were strange wires attached to me. I was strapped to a table with a monitor to my right that beeped slowly to the rhythm of my heart. I think electric currents were being sent through the wires into my body because pain would flair up briefly every couple of seconds. It wasn't enough to electrocute me but it was enough to be uncomfortable. _

_A soft sob to my right caused me to look over…and find that my human self was strapped to a table similar to mine. Talk about an out of body experience._

_My dog self however, was more curious than surprise. I cocked my head as my human self looked at me. _

"_Don't worry," I whispered, "Everything's going to be alright."_

_My human self's eyes widened as my dog self wondered if she could understand me._

_It was then that I had an epiphany. This wasn't my dog self strapped to the table._

_It was Sarafina._

_Her thoughts were what filled my head as she studied my human self. _

Maybe,_ Sarafina's thoughts whispered. _This was what I was missing. This is the connection.

_She paused as two men with surgical instruments entered the room. She glanced at my human self who was being sedated._

Then what needs to be done will be done…

_At that moment, I realized why I survived the experiments the Foot did. It wasn't because I was lucky or the type of animal used. _

_It was because Sarafina decided to let herself die so that she could save me._

_I cried. I screamed at her to get away. She needed to fight back. She needed to escape. She shouldn't just let them cut into her without resistance. Resigned to her fate._

_As my vision faded to black, I was aware of the heart monitor._

_Beeping...Beeping…Silence…_

* * *

When I awoke I was in my dog form again with tears streaming down my face. Klunk was peering over me with concern. This quickly turned to annoyance once he realized I was awake. "What's wrong with you?" He hissed. "First you pass out, then change into a dog, then you start crying. You don't have rabies do you?"

For once, I wasn't in the mood for making snappy comebacks. I was only filled with self-loathing.

A dog died because of me.

A life was taken because of me.

And at that moment, I didn't want to be in the lair. I wanted to be in my old room, in my old bed, waking up to find that this was all a nightmare.

Of course, that wasn't going to happen. Right now, though, I just couldn't be in the lair. I needed some fresh air and fast.

I bolted out of the lair, leaving a bewildered Klunk in my wake.

* * *

The scenery blurred as I ran. When I finally became aware of what I was doing, I was on the roof of a building. I guess I got up there by fire escape but I didn't remember when I did. I just hoped that I could find a way back down.

The fresh air and running helped to clear my head a bit and calm down. I allowed myself to sit as I caught my breath. As I did, I allowed my thoughts to wander… which made me think of Sarafina being cut into by surgical instruments.

I suddenly felt nauseous. I dry-retched a few times before my stomach finally settled down.

There was a breeze in the air that created a slight chill. I shivered slightly but made no attempt to leave. I knew that Master Splinter and the turtles would kill me but I wasn't ready to go back yet.

I was suddenly aware of how tired I was. I lay down as I rested my head on my forelegs. As my eyes drooped shut, I muttered to myself. "A couple minutes wouldn't hurt. After that, I'll…head…" I was asleep before I could finish my sentence.

* * *

L.A.: Wow, that's was sad. Don't worry this story is dark though. It just has it's sad points. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	32. New York City Streets At Night

New York Streets At Night

* * *

L.A.: So, yeah, I'm not going to bother with an excuse why this is so late. It is a long complicated and frustrating story. Anyway, it's summer! And, as soon as I have internet at my house again, I'm going to try to update all my stories once weekly until their done! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

I woke up with a bad creak in my back and was chilled to the bone. Blinking a couple of times, I finally remembered that I had fallen asleep on the roof. It was already past midnight.

"They are going to be so angry with me," I said as I stood up. I winced as I felt my back pop. "Got to remember to not sleep on hard surfaces."

I was still in my dog form to my relief. At least, I didn't have to worry about running through the streets of New York City in my Birthday suit.

I trotted to the edge of the roof and looked down. There was a fire escape that led to the ground. The only problem was that I had just remembered that I was terrified of heights. Joy.

I slowly and cautiously made my way down the escape, cursing to myself and swearing that I would never run up a fire escape as long as I live.

I reached the ground with a dull thump. Straightening up, I got ready to leave when I heard voices off to my right.

"Did you see that lady?" A teenage boy said as two figures approached me.

"Yeah, screamed like a baby when we took her purse." The other boy said with a laugh.

I glared as a growl escaped me. Like Raph, low life thugs really ticked me off. Normally, I couldn't do anything about it but since I was currently a dog, all I had to do was growl, snap my teeth, and people would run away screaming. I figured I'd take advantage of the situation.

Both paused when I growled but as they stepped into the streetlight, I realized I might have bit off more that I could chew. Oh crud, now I'm making bad dog puns.

The one on the left had a green Mohawk and various piercings. The one on the right had spiked fire engine red hair. Both had a tattoo on their left arms of a purple dragon which happened to be the symbol of the most notorious gang in New York.

"Look what we got," Spiked hair guy said. "It's a stray."

"I think the little doggie's lost," Mohawk guy said as he reached out his hand. My instincts took over and I bit him. Mohawk guy let out a yell as he cursed me. I really need to stop listening to my dog instincts.

They raised their clubs at me and I took off running. I could hear them running after me. In fact, I think the whole block could hear them with all the screaming and yelling they were doing. I was really wishing I had opposable thumbs right at the moment. If I did, I could jump into the closet manhole and escape. How the heck did I get up here anyway?

I dodged a club as I continued running. "Note to self:" I panted. "Do not run blindly through New York _ever_ again!"

As I entered an alley, a figure dropped down in between the two purple dragons and me. I smelled cinnamon. Don was here.

"So," Spike haired guy said. "The dog belongs to the freak."

"That dog bit me," Mohawk guy said as he babied his hand.

Donnie smirked. "Hope you didn't give her rabies."

The two purple dragons charged and were defeated in less than five seconds.

For a brainiac, Donnie was an awesome fighter. All the sudden, He was by my side, his expression a mixture between anger and curiosity. After seeing him kick those guys' butts with ease and then come and glare at me was rather intimidating. So, I rolled over on my back and gave him the puppy dog eyes.

Donnie frowned as he crossed his arms. "Nice try, but that doesn't work on me."

"Darn," I thought as I rolled into a sitting position.

"What happened?" Donnie asked, his glare lessening slightly. "You shouldn't have run off like that."

I gave him a blank stare. Had he forgotten that I couldn't speak English in my dog form?

Donnie pulled out something from his bag and attached it to my head. It was the translator.

"Crud," I muttered. I really wasn't in the mood to explain myself. It meant I would have to relive my dream which I had pushed back to the deepest recesses of my mind.

"Chloe," Donnie crouched down so that he was eye level with me. "What's wrong?"

I whimpered. Before I knew what I was doing, I tackled hugged Donnie and howled. "A dog died because of me."

Okay, that definitely didn't go as planned. I was surprised by my sudden lack of control over my emotions. Apparently Don was too since he fell back on his haunches and patted me awkwardly. "What the shell are you talking about?"

And so, in between whimpers, I told him about the dream. After I had finished, Donnie smiled gently and patted my head.

"Chloe, you know none of this is your fault. The dog died to save you because it wanted to. If you want to blame someone, blame the Foot." His ees narrowed as he unconsciously clenched his fists. "They always are the problem." The turtles had only told me a few of their adventures. From the way he was acting, whatever he was thinking of wasn't pretty.

Still, he had made me feel better. He always could make me feel better. "Thanks Don."

"No problem," He said as I hopped out of his lap and he stood up. "We should probably head back before anyone notices."

I nodded. "Yeah, I definitely don't want to incur Master Splinter's wrath."

We started to head towards the nearest manhole.

"You know, it's strange that you haven't changed back yet."

I frowned. "I know I wonder…" I never got to finish my sentence since I had transformed back again.

Donnie turned beet red before whirling away.

"Seriously?" I yelled at the sky as I crouched into a ball. "Seriously! You choose now?"

"I brought a change of clothes in my bag." Donnie said as he dropped it behind him. "Just in case."

I blushed. Since when had I gotten so self conscious around Donnie? Sure I would get annoyed when this happened but never embarrassed. As I clothed myself I watched Donnie from the corner of my eye.

Donnie kind of looked heroic standing there. Granted, we were in the middle of an alley filled with garbage and rats but he did seem to have a glow about himself. The way he stood, he seemed sort of han...

My eyes widened when I realized my train of thought. I couldn't possibly be thinking what I was. This was Donnie we were talking about.

"You finished?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah," I said feeling a blush creep up once more. What was going on with me?

As we started walking again, my mind was awhirl. Staring at him, I noticed he had nice muscles. I mentally slapped myself. I couldn't possibly be…could I?

* * *

L.A.: So, there you go. I should get internet next week so I will update then. Tell me what you think!


	33. To Deal with a Mockingbird

To Deal with a Mockingbird

* * *

L.A.: Okay, my internet is finally fixed and my laptop is finally cooperating so now I can start the updating once per week. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Chloe, you must concentrate," Master Splinter said.

I scrunched my eyes closed as I tried to clear my mind.

Since I had been having trouble controlling my dog form, Master Splinter suggested meditation. He seemed to believe that meditation could help me gain control over my body. Only problem was that I sucked at meditation. When you're supposed to think of nothing, of course you start to think about everything.

Something whacked me on the top of the head.

"Ow," I said as I rubbed my head.

Master Splinter had his arms crossed. "You weren't clearing your mind."

"It's hard, Master Splinter," I whined. "I don't know if I can do it."

He shook his head. "Anyone can clear their mind if they have the determination and the dedication." He sat down in the meditation position. "Now, try again."

I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes. _Just concentrate,_ I thought. _Think about your breathing. In out, in, out._

Ever since the purple dragon incident, that strange feeling I had around Donnie wouldn't go away. This was really annoying because whenever he got near me, I would end up blushing like crazy. It was really frustrating.

_In, out, focus on your breathing._

I still had no idea what Kai was up to and if Akira was still alive. I had a feeling that there was something far more sinister going on but I didn't have any clue what it was.

_Oh, crap, I'm doing again._ I scrunched my eyes tighter. _Focus on your breathing. In, out, in out, in…I'm hungry. _

My stomach grumbled.

I opened my eyes and grinned sheepishly.

Master Splinter sighed. "We'll take a break for now."

I bowed as I quickly exited the dojo.

"Teenagers," Master Splinter said under his breath.

When I entered the kitchen, Raph was there reading the morning paper.

He looked up and grinned. "How was your trainin' session with Master Splinter?"

"A dud," I said as I poured myself a bowl of cereal. "I can't do the whole mind blank thing."

"It's hard," Raph said as he turned a page. "'Specially when your mind is somewhere else."

I sighed as I slouched into a chair beside him. "Is it that easy to tell?"

"When you're not your cheerful self then there's somethin' wrong," Raph said.

I played with my food for a second. "I hate that I can't know what the Foot are up too."

"Don't we all," Raph said.

"There's got to be something I can do," I said as I watched my cheerios swirl around in my bowl. I was part dog but I couldn't even find a trace of them. My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me. I could talk to animals. I may not have seen them but someone else might. No one would hide from an animal. I slapped my forehead. "I'm such an idiot."

Raph looked at me in confusion.

"Hey Raph," I said sweetly. "Are you going to go out and play vigilante tonight?"

"What?" Raph laughed awkwardly. "'Course not. Why would I ever do that?"

I rolled my eyes. "We all know you go out at night so quit playing innocent."

Raph sighed. "What do ya want?"

"I want to go with you," I said. "I think I can get some information on the Foot; and, if so, I might need you to bust a few heads."

Raph grinned ruefully. "I like your thinkin'."

"Deal?" I said as I held out my hand.

"Deal," he said as we shook on it.

* * *

We decided to sneak out at one in the morning. I met him at the front door.

"Ya ready?" He asked.

I nodded. "Let's go."

"Where ya going?" A voice asked behind us, causing both of us to start.

We whirled around and saw Mikey standing behind us. He had his arms crossed and an amused grin on his face.

"Get lost," Raph growled.

"Not unless you want me to tell Master Splinter," Mikey said with an evil grin.

I sighed. "What do you want Mikey?"

"I want to go with you," Mikey said. "Sophie's so danger prone, something cool's bound to happen."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," I grumbled.

"Alright, fine," Raph said. "Just keep quiet."

Mikey gave him a mock salute.

We stuck to the roofs to avoid detection. Even though my ninja training has made me more fit, I still needed help jumping from roof to roof. This was because I didn't trust myself to make the jump. Also, no matter how much training I had, I was always and forever will be afraid of heights.

As we continued to go on patrol, I was becoming disheartened by the lack of animals. Granted, I knew there wouldn't be that many on the roofs but I figured we'd run into something.

"Confound it," A voice said from up ahead. I stopped in my tracks as I listened. "That stupid brat's going to pay."

"What's wrong?" Raph asked.

"Don't you hear it?" I asked as I looked from one to the other.

Mikey shook his head. "Hear what? All I hear is an owl."

I grinned. Looked like today was my lucky day. "And, this is where I come in," I said as I ran past them.

An owl was perched at the edge of the roof looking rather angry. Its feathers were ruffled up as it paced back and forth.

"Um, hi," I said. The owl started as it flapped its wings to regain its balance. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question."

"What? What?" The owl said after it regained its composure. "Whooo are youuuu?"

"You know you just proved a stereotype for your species," I said.

I saw Mikey lean towards Raph and whisper. "Why is Sophie talking to the owl?"

"My name is Chloe," I said, ignoring their bewildered looks. "And, I was wondering if you've seen the Foot."

"What?" The owl cocked his head. "The Foot? What's a foot?"

"They're humans clothed entirely in black," I said. "They have huge white lens for eyes."

"Oh," The owl said, recognition lit up in its eyes. "Yes, I've seen them."

"And," I said, trying to contain my excitement.

"And, I'm far too busy right now to talk," The owl said. "A stupid mockingbird's invaded my nest and won't leave."

"It's my nest now," a voice said from what looked like the tree to someone's roof garden. "It's your own fault for leavin' it."

"You ignorant fool," The owl said as it unfurled its wings and showed off its impressive wing span. "You're the perfect size for me to eat."

"You'd eat a cousin," the mockingbird said mockingly as it finally came into sight. "You cannibal."

The owl flapped its wings. "Why I oughtta."

"Wait a minute," I said as I held my hands out. "Let's talk this out for a minute." Both the birds and the turtles looked at me like I was an idiot. Seriously, I'm really getting tired of that. "I'm sure we can work this out."

"Yeah," The owl narrowed its eyes. "I gut the stupid bird."

"Not in this life time," the mockingbird yelled as it flapped its wings.

"Uh, Chloe," Raph said slowly. "I'm not sure what you're doing but we need to…"

"One second," I said as I held out a finger. I turned my attention back to the birds. "Look, we all have something someone else has so why don't we come to a compromise."

"Compromise?" Both cocked their heads in confusion.

"Yeah," I said, "there's a nice tree right next to it. So, why doesn't the mockingbird move over there."

"Ha!" The owl puffed out its chest with pride.

"And, the owl helps you build the nest."

"Wha?" They both said.

"Look, if you don't seriously hurt each other, you're going to be neighbors because you're both too stubborn to leave the area. So, why don't you work together?"

They both eyed each other for a moment.

"Deal?" I said with my hands on my hips.

They both sighed. "Deal."

"Great," I said. "Now that that's settled." I turned my attention to the owl. "Where did you last see the Foot?"

The owl grinned. "I didn't just see the Foot as you call them. I know where they are."

I glanced back at Mikey and Raph who were watching me skeptically. "Boys, we're going to pay the Foot a little visit."

* * *

L.A.: So, I'm going to end there. Next chapter's going to be interesting. I'll have to the new chapter next week if all goes according to plan. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	34. So Close

So Close…

* * *

L.A.: So, it's coming out later than I planned but I still got it out. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Raph, Mikey, and I cautiously peered over the roof's edge. An old warehouse was below us. We had been watching it for a few minutes but there had been no sign of human activity.

"Chloe," Raph said slowly. "I don't see anything."

"Look the owl said that they were here," I said. "Owls don't trick people."

Mikey and Raph looked at me like I was an idiot.

I glared. "Would everyone quit looking at me like that? I'm not an idiot. Okay, I know it seems weird that I can talk to animals but it's true so just believe me. There are foot ninjas down there."

"Okay, calm down," Raph said. "It's just weird that you can talk to animals."

"You're a bipedal, mutant ninja turtle," I said with a blank face. "Can you really talk?"

Mikey snickered. "She got you there, dude."

"Shut up," Raph hissed as he pushed us down. "I heard something'"

Down below, a foot ninja walked around the perimeter. After he passed, I turned to them with an evil grin and said. "I told you so."

"Okay, you were right," Raph said as Mikey snickered once again.

I tried to cover up my smile. The last thing I wanted to do was tick off Raph. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Mikey and I will go inside and scope it out. You," he gave me a pointed look. "Will stay here and keep lookout."

"What?" I said in alarm. "No."

"Chloe," Raph said testily.

"Come on," I whined. "This is my mission too. I would be a great addition." I pointed to my nose and ears. "Remember, I have a canine's sense of smell and hearing."

"Which is why you will be a great look out," Mikey said with a grin.

Translation: Stay up here so you won't be in the way.

Of course there was no point arguing with them. If I did, we'd just leave. It would be better if someone checked the place out then none at all.

They quietly slunk into the compound. Mikey gave me a cheesy wave before they both vanished.

After five minutes of staring at the building, I was bored out of my mind. My ears were drooped and I was pondering the thought of chasing my own tail for amusement. Glancing at it, it seemed bored as well since it swayed back and forth lazily.

"Great," I whispered to myself. "I'm personifying my tail again. I wonder if all dogs have this problem."

With a groan I lay flat on the rooftop and stared at the stars. Although New York is notorious for its light pollution, from where I was sitting I could see the stars. They were really pretty and I found myself mesmerized by them for a few minutes. I looked for Orion's belt. From it, I could tell what direction I was facing. I know I'm supposed to look for Polaris, the North Star, but I never could find the darn thing so I had to improvise.

The stargazing entertained me for fifteen minutes but slowly I became bored again. I cautiously peered over the roof's edge.

All seemed quiet and calm.

I frowned. "What the heck are they doing in there?"

"I could ask you the same question," a voice said from behind me.

I tensed as I slowly turned around.

Kai was standing before me with smirk. "Let me guess," he said, "You're here to look for the monkey."

I glared at him.

"Not in a talking mood?" He asked. "Well, I'll enlighten you. We've already moved our test animals from this facility so you're already too late."

"Then why are you still here?" I asked as I stood up.

"We had to… take care of a few things," Kai said.

My ears perked as I heard footsteps behind me. Looking around, I saw a few more foot ninjas appear from the shadows.

Stupid Foot ninjas and their sneaking ways.

I took a fighting stance as I tried to size up my enemies. This sucked. I was going to be in so much pain the next morning.

Two figures jumped in front of me.

"Donnie, Leo," I said as I laughed sheepishly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"We'll talk later," Donnie said in a clipped voice.

That was scary. I don't like when Donnie gets angry especially when it's directed at me.

The foot ninjas looked at Kai in confusion.

"Well don't just stand there," Kai said angrily. "Get them."

They charged as did Donnie and Leo. I figured they had it covered so I tried to find Kai amidst the crowd.

It turned out the coward high tailed it after he sent his men in.

"Donnie," Leo said as he knocked a ninja aside. "Get Chloe out of here. I'll go find Raph and Mikey."

Donnie quickly took my hand and pulled me away from the fight. We were several roofs away before Donnie let go of my hand and let us rest.

I was afraid to look at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see him pacing back and forth on the rooftop. He was still mad probably because I snuck out with Raph and Mikey without him.

"Um, Donnie…"

"Are you crazy?" Donnie said as he clinched his fists. He was trying his best to control his temper. "You could have been killed. You know the Foot are after you."

I rolled my eyes. "I took Raph and Mikey with me."

He sighed. "That's not the point. I…" He blushed and looked away.

I frowned as I took a step forward. "You what?"

He leaned and, for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. This moment ended though when I suddenly transformed into a dog.

Life, you officially suck.

* * *

L.A.: Oh, so close. Don't worry, things are going to start speeding up in the next few chapters. After all, this story is almost over. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	35. We're Comparing Attraction to Nightingal

We're comparing Attraction to Nightingale Syndrome?

* * *

L.A.: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I had a family emergency and a couple major projects that had to be done. Anyway I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The walk back was awkward to say the least. Thank goodness Donnie had the translator with him. I was cursing myself for changing into a dog when I did and Donnie…well I wasn't really sure what Donnie was thinking.

He was, however, refusing to look at me. I could literally start tap dancing right beside him and he wouldn't look.

I figured I needed to break the silence. It was getting way too uncomfortable for me. "So," I said slowly. "What's new?"

Donnie gave me a look and grinned slightly. "Nothing."

"So, uh, back there," I said, trying to think of how to word what I wanted to say. "What were you going to do?"

Donnie quickly looked away as he flushed. "Nothing."

I cocked my head. "Is nothing the only word you can say?"

"Just don't worry about it," He said.

"Aw come on," I whined. "What were you going to do?"

"Something that you wouldn't like me for later on," Donnie said.

I frowned. "I like you a lot. There's nothing…" My eyes widened as I realized what I had said.

Crud, I'm such an idiot. Hesitantly, I looked up at him.

He was still refusing to look at me but I noticed that his eyes had widened and he had blushed. "If you do like me, it's only because you are suffering from Nightingale syndrome."

"What?" I looked at him in disbelief. I just admitted that I liked the guy and he tells me I'm suffering from Nightingale syndrome? Definitely not the romantic reply I had wanted.

"It's where a person develops feelings for the person who saved them like a doctor…"

"I know what it is," I snapped. "And, I can't believe you would say that."

"You may be a mutant now, Chloe, but you're still a human," Donny said. "I'm close to finding a cure to your problem. When you're cured you'll want to go back to the human world."

I didn't know he had been so close to finding a cure. This was news to me.

I glared at him. "Oh, you really believe that? What about April and Casey? They're still friends with you."

We were at the entrance to the lair by then.

"They're different," His eyes widened as he realized what he said.

"Oh, so they have the ability to care but I can't?" I asked as I clinched my teeth.

"Chloe I…"

"No!" I growled. "I see how it is, fine. If you say I have Nightingale syndrome then I do. You happy?" I turned abruptly away. "You don't have to worry about me anymore." Stomping towards my room, I tried to look as angry as possible. Apparently I failed at that since Klunk and Aristotle were snickering at me. When I reached my room, I saw why. It looked like I had been prancing instead of stomping.

With my door closed, I jumped into my bed. Curling up in a ball, I finally broke down. The guy I liked thought I had a disease, I still had no idea what Kai was doing, and most importantly…

"I can't even look angry in this form," I sobbed.

* * *

It was around dinner time when someone knocked on my door. Leo poked his head in. I was still in my dog form sprawled out on my bed.

"You okay?" Leo asked.

"Just not feeling well," I said.

"I figured," He held out a sandwich. "Thought you might be hungry."

I grinned as I sat up. "Leo, you are my savior."

He chuckled as he sat it down on my table and sat down beside me.

As I munched on my sandwich, I noticed that Leo was staring at me intently. "What?" I said.

"Did you and Donnie have a fight?"

I choked on a bite of sandwich. "No," I said as I gasped for air. "Why…would you say…that?"

Leo sighed. "Ever since we got back, Donnie's been in his lab. He wouldn't even come out for dinner."

I raised an eyebrow. "And, this is new how?"

"It's just that when I checked up on him he was staring at a DVD player."

"And?"

"Well, he glared at it then threw it against a wall."

I frowned. "Now that sounds like Raph."

"I know," Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "And I really don't want another Raph around here."

"He probably has some disease that he'll get over soon." I must have said that a little too vehemently since Leo was now giving me one of his 'I'm the leader and you cannot hide anything from me' looks. Not wanting to deal with one of his lectures, I quickly said, "You know, I'm really tired. I think I might call it a night."

I knew this wasn't over. I could tell by the way that he was looking at me.

"Fine," He said as he stood up. "Good night."

"Night," I said as I curled up into a ball. I waited until he was gone before I sprawled back out and allow my forced grin to fade.

I know it was bad, but a part of me was glad that Donnie seemed to be upset about this as well. It made me think that the attraction I felt wasn't just one way.

Another part of me hoped that Donnie would come bursting through my door telling me he was wrong and that he didn't know what he had been thinking.

Of course, I knew this wouldn't happen. Donnie was logical. That was one of the qualities I liked about him. Logic told him that we shouldn't be together so he wouldn't come after me. I guess if I thought logically, I could see his way. We came from two different worlds. Being friends wasn't hard but being something more than that was a little hard to grasp.

I sighed as I lay my head back on my front paws. Sometimes, it sucks when your mind says one thing but your heart says another.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up in my half human/ half dog form. I yawned as I sat up. Rubbing the back of my neck, my mind replayed the events from the night before. I groaned as I glared at the door. "I really don't want to get up today."

Unfortunately, my stomach was in no mood to comply with my wishes. So, I forced myself to my feet and slowly trudged to the main room. I was about to enter the kitchen when I heard voices talking.

"I've already told you, I'm fine," Don said. I peeked around the corner and saw him standing by the coffee maker. He was drumming his fingers as he stared intently at the machine. It looked as if he was trying to will the coffee maker to brew faster.

"You've kind of been out of it," Leo said as he leaned back in his chair.

Don drummed his fingers faster as his eye twitched. "I've just been busy in my lab."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "Doin' what? Trashin' DVD players? If I did that you'd kill me."

Donnie turned and glared at him. "Look, it slipped out of my hands. Now if you would excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." He walked hurriedly out of the room.

"Yeah, there's something wrong with him," Mikey said. He forgot his coffee."

Leo turned and stared directly at my hiding spot. "You can come out now, Chloe. We know you're here."

"Okay," I said as I stepped into the kitchen. "That is just plain creepy."

"Have fun eavesdroppin'?" Raph asked as he went back to his newspaper.

I shrugged. "Who was I to interfere with a brothers' quarrel." My ears perked up as I sniffed. "Is that Mikey's oh so glorious scramble eggs I smell?"

Mikey grinned. "Sure is. Do you want some?"

"You know it." Apparently, when I'm depressed I eat a lot. This is nothing new. It probably would have gone unnoticed if it weren't for the fact that I ate four large helpings of eggs.

I'm not kidding. I ate four freaking plates of eggs. I must have blacked out when I ate because all the sudden there were four empty plates in front of me with no trace of egg left on them.

From the expressions on Mikey's, Leo's and Raph's faces it must have been a sight.

"Uh, Chloe?" Raph as he cautiously took the fork from my hand. "Are ya okay?"

I grinned sheepishly. "I'm just a growing girl/ dog." I quickly stood up. "You know I should probably get back to my room. I really need to clean."

"Hey Chloe," Leo said, stopping my attempt to escape. "I was wondering if you could do something for me."

An evil grin was on his face. Leo never grins evilly. I was instantly scared.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked as I tried to slowly back out of the kitchen.

He shoved a cup of coffee into my hands. "Why don't you bring that to Donnie?"

"I really don't have the time," I said. "So, much cleaning."

Leo backed away with his hands up. "Well, if you can't…"

All the sudden, Mikey was pushing me towards the lab. "Come on, Sophie. Donnie's fine when you go in the lab. He'll just kick us out."

"What?" I said. "You do realize he kicks me out on a consecutive basis."

"Yeah, but he likes ya better." Raph grinned as he helped Mikey shove me to the lab.

"Leo, your brothers are kidnapping me," I yelled.

Leo was pretending to be meditating.

"I know you're not meditating," I said with a glare. "You traitor!"

"Okay, Sophie," Mikey said as he shoved me into the lab. "Work your magic." Before I could react, they shut the door. I heard a scraping sound behind it. It was only until I tried to open the door that I realized they had jammed the door.

"Let me out," I hissed as I rattled the door knob. "This is not funny."

The sound of a chair moving caused me to freeze. I slowly turned around and saw Donnie. He literally looked like a deer caught in headlights.

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I remembered that I could talk.

"Coffee?" I said as I held the cup out to him.

That seemed to snap him out of his stupor. He quickly turned back to his work bench and said. "I thought you didn't want me to drink coffee."

I frowned. "I said you should drink it in moderation." A shuffled my foot as an awkward pause ensued. "Your brothers locked me in here." I blurted out.

Donnie rubbed his forehead. "I know. They're being idiotic."

Another long awkward pause ensued. What I would give to transform right at that moment. At least then, I'd have an excuse for not talking.

"Don't you want your coffee?" I asked as I offered it to him again.

"I don't need it," He muttered.

For some reason, that really pissed me off. I marched over to his bench and slammed the coffee cup in front of him. "Will you just take the stupid coffee?"

He pushed the cup away from him. "I appreciate it but I don't want any now."

My eye twitched. "What the heck is wrong with you? I am giving you the chance to drink your coffee in peace and you say no?"

Donnie looked at me as if I were an idiot. "What's wrong with you? It's just coffee."

What was wrong with me? When did I get upset about coffee. I sighed. "I don't know…just forget it." I took a step forward when I felt him catch my arm.

"Chloe… wait…"

I glanced back at him. His expression was a mixture between confused and frustrated.

He withdrew his hand and started to massage his temples. "Crud."

I frowned as I hesitantly stepped forward. "Are you okay?"

He leaned back in his chair as he said. "Great, I have Nightingale syndrome as well."

Again, not the reaction I was expecting. "What?" Apparently, today, I'm just full of witty comebacks.

"Well," He stood up and started pacing. "It must be it. I mean I can't concentrate on my work. It's like if you're not there to harass me then I can't get anything done." He lightly hit his forehead with his fist. "Crud."

I crossed my arms as anger rose within me again. "So, now you're saying that you could only like me if you had a disease?"

His eyes widened as he held his hands out. "That's not what I mean…" He held up his fingers. "There's just so many factors to consider and hypothetical situations…"

"Donnie," I said as I grabbed his hands and lowered them. "There are no factors, no hypothetical situations, no equations." I stared him straight in the eye. "There's just you and me. It's really that simple."

He seemed stunned by my response. I was too tired to deal with any more of this so I just backed away. "Whatever. I'll just see you later." I geared myself up for curling up in my bed and indulging in some self pity.

I never made it to the door.

Donnie grabbed me and pulled into him. Before I could protest, he leaned in and kissed me.

And, what a kiss it was. I had thought that kissing him would be awkward. Boy, was I wrong. His lips felt warm and nice against mine. They seemed to fit perfectly against mine. He smelled like a combination of fresh wood shavings and a new car. And, as he cradled me in his arms, I not only felt happiness but also safe. I felt that as long as I was with him, nothing could touch me. Not Kai, nor the Foot, nor this stupid dog transformation. Nothing.

It was the greatest feeling in my life.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there but by the time we pulled away, we were blushing like mad and breathless.

Donnie rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess, we could do this on a trial basis."

I scratched my arm as I looked down to the ground. "A trial basis is good."

He cleared his throat as he quickly walked back to his table. "Well, I need to get back to work. The security grid's been acting up."

I nodded. "Yeah, well I need to clean up a bit." I paused before I said hesitantly. "I could come by and help you later?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that."

As I turned to leave, I noticed he was drinking from the coffee cup.

* * *

I wasn't really surprised when the door mysteriously starting working again. As I passed the main room, I saw Mikey, Raph, and Leo watching TV. Leo looked up with a not too innocent smile on his face.

I was still blushing but I did have enough pride left to say. "I hope you're happy."

Immediately, Mikey jumped up and looked at me. "Wait, what happened?"

I quickly started to walk to my room.

"Sophie" Mikey whined as he ran after me. "Come on, tell me, tell me, tell me."

I just laughed as I dodged him. Okay, so maybe this day wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

L.A.: Well, I hope you liked it. It was extra long to make up for the fact that I hadn't updated in a while. Also, Nightingale Syndrome is a real disease. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	36. Missing

Missing

* * *

L.A.: Okay, as promised, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Although we didn't admit it, I think everyone knew that Donnie and I were together. Well, Master Splinter knew because he's omnipotent but the others seemed to have some hint. For one thing, whenever we were in the lab, they would make sure to knock before entering. Polite, yes, but also embarrassing. Apparently, they expected us to be making out every waking minute.

And yeah, I mean we did do it occasionally; but, Don's so busy with work that it's hard to get the guy to sit down and relax.

I did tell Lindsey though. She found out the same day that Raph, Mikey, Casey, and April found out about her and Leo. I was with Donnie at the time so I wasn't sure what happened. All I know is that Mikey ran screaming through the lair for fifteen minutes straight claiming that he had been scarred for life.

Needless to say, Donnie and I weren't really willing to confirm their suspicions after that which was probably a good thing. If Donnie found a logical reason why we couldn't be together, he would take it. Out of all the turtles, Donnie had to be the one with commitment issues. Go figure.

I swear, if I didn't like the guy so much I'd strangle him.

Before I even realized it, a week had past. We all had settled into our own routines. Mine seemed to focus mainly on being in Donnie's lab which neither Donnie or I minded.

We were working on the Battle Shell again. I was excited even if Donnie was watching me with a scrutinizing eye. We had the hood up and were focusing on the engine.

I was trying to loosen a bolt but for some reason the darn thing wouldn't come off.

I felt Donnie come up behind me.

"Having problems?" He asked, his lips twitching.

I glared. "You screw these things on too tight."

"Someone's a little cranky," He said as he deftly took the wrench away from me and set it aside.

"Dude, that was my wrench," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "You've been hanging around Mikey too long."

I shrugged. "When you're around Mikey, you tend to pick up the occasional surfer's lingo and loose a few brain cells."

Donnie laughed slightly as he took my hand. "I think you need a break."

"Really," I said as I let him lead me away. "Are you taking a break?"

"Possibly," He said as he sat down on his swivel chair and pulled me into his lap.

I giggled as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I want a pony…and, uh, a puppy... and, uh, Disney world."

He smirked. "Don't ruin it."

I just smiled as I leaned in to kiss him.

Our kiss lasted for a few minutes before it was interrupted by a loud pounding sound. I was so startled that I fell out of Donnie's lap and hit the stone floor with a loud thud.

Moments later, Lindsey and Leo came in. Both of them looked highly amused.

Blushing like mad, I whispered. "I fell."

"What do you want?" Don asked, blushing as well.

"Pizza's here," Leo said as Lindsey help me up. "That is, if you two are still hungry."

"Busted," Lindsey whispered.

"Shut up" I said as I playfully shoved her.

* * *

_I was really started to get annoyed with this. Falling asleep and waking up in this lab. The silver tables were off to my right and the tubes filled with the strange green fluid were off to my left. No one was in sight._

"_I died here," a voice said behind me._

_I turned around and saw myself…er, Sarafina, staring. She wasn't looking at me but rather through me. It kind of gave me the creeps._

"_I wanted to make a difference in the world," She said as she passed right through me and walked towards the tubes. "I wanted to find the connection." She vanished._

_She reappeared again in the tube. Her eyes were closed and her body motionless. _

_I slowly crept up towards her to see if she was okay._

_Her eyes snapped open and her voice filled my ears. "Have you figured it out yet?"_

* * *

"Jeez," I said as I sat up right. My hand went immediately to my clammy forehead. Side effects or not, this had to stop.

I glanced at my digital clock and groaned. It was after one. There was no way I could fall back to sleep now.

I frowned as I cocked my head. I could hear muffled voices coming from downstairs.

A rustle to my right alerted me that Aristotle was awake as well.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Aristotle shrugged. "Don't know but they sound upset."

Curious, we both crept out of our room and to the top of the stairs. The turtles and Master Splinter were in the den.

Leo was pacing back and forth while the others were gathered around him.

"Wait, slow down, Leo," Don said. "What happened?"

"They took Lindsey," Leo said as he rubbed his forehead. "I had just left. I heard her scream and they took her. I couldn't get back I couldn't…"

"What?" I said as I came down the steps with Aristotle right behind me.

They all flashed me guilty looks. Apparently, they hadn't wanted me to hear.

"Chloe," Master Splinter said as he held out a piece of paper. "This piece of paper was left at your friend's house. Do you know what it means?"

I took the piece of paper and frowned.

_P16 B19_

"No," my eyes widened. "It was Kai, wasn't it? He took her, didn't he?"

"We're not sure," Mikey said slowly.

Leo let out a sigh. "I'm going to go look for her."

"Leo, wait," Raph said as Mikey and he ran after him.

I was about to follow when Don grabbed my shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I glared. "What do you think? I'm going after my best friend."

Don shook his head. "Chloe, you need to stay here. You're too close to this."

"And, you guys aren't?"

Don let his hand drop. "I admit, we are; but, we have had years of ninja training to keep us focused."

I crossed my arms and snorted. "You really think Leo is in a capable state of mind?"

"Leo believes that the world's fate rests on his shoulders," Don said slowly. "We can't stop him but at least we can keep an eye on him." He quickly turned and walked away. "Now, stay here."

I was about to protest when I felt Master Splinter walk up behind me.

"Come Chloe, let us drink tea and meditate."

Although he said it kindly, I knew it wasn't a request but more of an order.

As I slowly followed him to his chamber, I said, "No offense, Master Splinter, but I'm not really in the mood for meditation."

He motioned for me to sit down in front of him. Aristotle came and lay down beside me. Although Aristotle didn't want to admit it, I think he was worried for me.

As he poured the tea, Master Splinter said, "Meditation is good for the mind and spirit. It allows us to see problems from a different perspective."

I doubted it but I just kept my mouth shut as I accepted my tea.

We sat and drank our tea in silence.

As he refilled my cup, I asked. "Master Splinter, why doesn't anyone trust me to look for Lindsey. I may be upset but I'm still useful."

He set down his teapot and placed his hands on his knees. "It is not that they don't trust you but that they fear for you. If something were to happen to you, we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves." He looked me directly in the eye. "You are like family to them and our bonds with family run deep." He reached for the teapot and poured himself another cup. "And, even though I have never had a daughter, I consider you to be like one."

My eyes widened as a feeling of pride ran through me. Although it was obvious we were like family, it was nice to be told it.

"Thank you, Master Splinter," I said as I sipped my tea.

* * *

It was early morning when the turtles returned. From the way their shoulders slumped and the dark rings that circled their eyes, I could tell that they hadn't found a trace of Lindsey.

The mood in the lair was somber that day. Not even Mikey felt up to cracking jokes. Casey and April said that they would keep an eye out for any clue.

Other than that, we were forced to wait uselessly, until darkness fell.

When night came, the turtles grabbed their gear and made plans to scour the city once more.

I was sitting in the den area watching TV when they headed for the door. Leo and Raph were quiet while Mikey made a half-hearted attempt to smile.

"Don't worry," Don said as he threw his duffel over his shoulder. "We'll find her."

I nodded and gave a slight wave. "Good luck."

My attention turned back to the TV.

Apparently some sort of party was being held in Central Park. The news man rattled off a list of names. I barely paid attention as I played with the pillow. However; my ears perked when I heard a name.

"…will be speaking tonight. Karai, who took over after her father's strange disappearance, has been very generous in her donations. Sources say…"

All the sudden, everything faded away. The only thing I could focus on was the picture of a woman with short black hair and hard eyes being flashed on TV.

Karai, why did that name sound so familiar?

_What Mistress Karai doesn't know won't hurt her._

My eyes widened. Now I remembered. When they were experimenting on me, Kai had mentioned her. She was the current leader of the Foot.

I stood up as I glared at the TV. Although I didn't want to worry everyone, I couldn't sit by and be useless. My mind was made up. I knew what I had to do.

"Where are you going?"

I jumped. I had forgotten that Aristotle had been following me around all day.

"Nowhere important," I said as I looked around to make sure Master Splinter wasn't there.

Aristotle's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You found out how to get to Kai didn't you?" He stood up and stretched his back. "Well, I'm coming too."

"You can't," I hissed. "It's too…"

"Dangerous," He cocked his head. "Didn't they tell you the same thing?"

I winced. Even though Aristotle couldn't speak English, if he barked enough someone would figure out what he was trying.

"Look," He said as he hopped off the couch. "These humans killed my friend, Sarafina. I can't sit idly by when they are still out there."

Right then, he had sounded just like me.

I sighed. "Fine, but you've got to stay quiet."

Aristotle nodded. "So, where are we going?"

"We are going to see the leader of the Foot, but first," I grinned, "I've got to make a stop at the zoo."

* * *

L.A.: Yes, another one of my notorious cliffhangers but don't worry I will update soon. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	37. A Meeting with Karai

A Meeting with Karai

* * *

L.A.: Okay, the next chapter up. I still can't believe this story is almost over.

* * *

It was easy to sneak into the zoo. Apparently, they weren't expecting a dog girl and her dog to be breaking in.

I wasn't stupid. I knew that going to see Karai by myself was risky. That was why I brought a shell cell. I didn't want to call the guys but I had it just in case.

Also, I wanted to have some security just in case it got bad and I knew just the animal to ask.

Parker was curled up and fast asleep. His tail swished back and forth.

"Parker," I whispered. He didn't move. I scooped up a rock and threw it at him.

Immediately, Parker was on his feet, whirling around to find the source.

"Up here," I whispered.

Parked paused and looked up. "Oh, hello there, if it isn't the human translator. Thanks for getting them to change my food."

"I need a favor from you," I said.

"Name it."

"You think you can come and be intimidating for me?"

Parker winced. "I'd love to, the only problem is that the other day the person who cleans my cage pissed me off. Always talking to me in a baby voice. I tried to chase him out but I tripped and sprained my ankle." He lifted his front foot sadly. "I can't do too much walking on it."

My shoulders slumped. I had been depending on Parker's help to get Karai to talk.

Parker's face lit up. "You know, the wolves have been complaining a lot about not getting out. I bet they'll help you out."

"That's a good idea," Aristotle added. "They're our cousins. They should listen."

"They're your cousins," I said. I turned my attention back to Parker. "Where are they?"

"About two down," Parker said as he settled back down.

After thanking Parker, I went off in search of the wolves. It wasn't long until I found them. They were all crowded in a corner talking to themselves.

Aristotle and I casted confused glances at each other before approaching them.

"Um, hi…" I began.

The wolves whirled around.

"Whoa," said a brown wolf. "She can speak our language."

"Uh, yeah," I said. "Look, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Does it involve us getting out of our cage for a little bit?" a white wolf asked.

Aristotle and I nodded.

A black wolf grinned. "Then count us in!"

* * *

There were four in total. On our way to see Karai, I learned that the brown one was name Gigi, the grey wolf was Skipper, the white wolf was Bonnie and the black wolf was Clyde. All together, they were a comical bunch. They were like tourists as they commented on everything we passed.

And also, they were agile. I offered to not go by rooftops to make it easier for them, but they were bound and determined to try. They jumped from rooftop to rooftop as if it were nothing more than a game. Seriously, I've been practicing. What took me months to somewhat master, they did with ease.

As we arrived at our destination, I heard a roar of applause.

"Karai's speech must be over," Aristotle said.

We quietly made our way to the back of the stage, avoiding any human contact. I definitely didn't want tomorrow's headlines to read: Dog Girl and Pack Raid Central Park.

I'd be dissected by scientists before I could say oops.

I suppressed a shiver as I noticed movement up ahead.

"Okay, this is it," I whispered to them. "Remember to look scary."

* * *

If Karai was scared, she didn't show it. She looked more amused which to me was odd. I mean, you've just walked away from delivering a speech to see a strange dog girl with a kuvasz and four wolves growling at you. The first thing that would come to my mind would be what the heck then oh, crud.

Well, she probably also the liberty to feel confident because there were two big creepy guys staring menacingly at us.

However, I was not about to be deterred. Puffing out my chest, I said. "I know you are the leader of the foot."

She crossed her arms and looked at me. The two men started to advance.

"And," I quickly said. "I want to know why you kidnap my friend, Lindsey."

"I did no such thing," Karai said. Her men came closer. Skipper snapped at one

"Oh yeah," I asked with a smirk. "Then why don't you ask Kai?"

Karai's expression falterd. "Kai?"

"Yeah, the one you sent to genetically mutate me," I said as anger rose within me. I tried to block out the memories.

Karai held up her hand. Her men immediately backed up. "You will tell me exactly what Kai has been doing."

I took a step back, surprised by the intensity in her stare. It was then that it hit me. "You had no idea what Kai was doing."

Karai turned her attention to one of her men. "Radio the others, we're going to get Kai."

"Wait," I said as I grabbed her shoulder. "If you know where he is then tell me."

Apparently grabbing Karai's shoulder was a big no-no since the men looked like they wanted to throttle me.

Karai shrugged my hand away. "I'll tell you where Kai is but you have only thirty minutes to get your friend and get out."

I was stunned by Karai's sudden interest in helping me. Then, I was suspicious. "Wait, why are you helping me?"

Karai glared at me. "Because what he did was dishonorable. I am honor bound to fix his mistake."

"Er…thanks?" I said as she walked by me.

"He's at Pier 16 Building 19," She said. "You better hurry."

A chill ran down my spine as I watched her leave. Kai was at Pier 16. The place where it all began.

* * *

L.A.: I know this chapter was really short but there are two chapters left and the next one, if I've guessed correctly, should be long. In other news, if you are a Kingdom Hearts fan, please check out my story _Oddball_. I really would like some comments. Anyway tell me what you think!


	38. Back to Where it All Began

Back to Where it All Began

* * *

L.A.: Okay, I know, I've been gone for ages. School started up and it has taken most of my time. Sorry! As a side note, I just want to say that I am amazed at how many people reviewed this story. 200 reviews is amazing! Usually ocs' stories don't get many reviews so the fact that so many people like my story makes me feel honored. Anywho, nice long chapter for making you wait. Enjoy!

* * *

"WHAT?"

I pulled back from the shell cell and winced.

I knew that when I called the turtles to tell them about Lindsey's location that they would be upset. I hadn't expected them to nearly burst my eardrum.

"I thought you were going to wait at the lair," Don said.

I laughed. "When have I ever been willing to be unproductive?"

"Chloe…" Don said.

"I get it, you're not in a joking mood," I said as I rolled my eyes. "Look, Lindsey's being held at Pier 16 Building 19. We're heading over there as we speak."

"We?"

"Me, Aristotle, and the wolves from the zoo," I said as I prepared to jump to another building.

There was a pause on the other end on the line.

"You stole wolves from the zoo?" Don asked. I could almost see him shaking his head in disbelief.

"I didn't steal," I said. "I just temporarily liberated them."

Don must have giving the others a weird look because I heard Mikey comment from the background. "She's Sophie, what did you expect?"

There was a loud sigh before Don came back on. "Okay, we'll head over there. You can go put the wolves back in the zoo and head home."

"What?" I made a crackling sound. "I can't…crrrrrr…hear…crrrrr…you…crrr."

"Chloe," Don said, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Sorry…crrrr…breaking…up…crrrrr… see you there…crrrrr…"

"I made the shell cells. They have an expanded range so that there won't be interference and…"

I quickly cut off the shell cell before he could comment.

Sometimes, it's bad when Don makes all the inventions. You can't get away with pretending they are malfunctioning.

I knew that Don was going to be really ticked off with me when he saw me. And since he's the pacifist of the group, that's saying something. Hopefully, he would take out his anger on the Foot.

As I increased my speed for the next jump, I realized that Karai's kindness really wasn't kind at all. Running as fast as I could, it took me fifteen minutes just to get to Pier 16. I was mentally cursing her as I approached the building.

Building 19 looked like every other ware house. It was bland, square, and looked pretty much abandoned. Well, almost abandoned. There were two foot ninjas standing guard out front.

"Okay," I whispered. "Let's go but be…discrete."

The wolves raced out. Skipper tackled one ninja while Clyde tackled the other. The ninjas tried to struggle but froze when the wolves snapped their teeth.

Skipper grinned at me. "Look at me, I could be in a movie."

"Yeah, you could win an Academy award." I smacked my hand against my forehead while Aristotle shook his head.

"A word to the wise," Aristotle said, "wolves don't know how to be discrete."

After we had bound and gagged the foot ninjas and hid them away, we approached the warehouse once more.

I guess, I could have stolen one the foot ninja's costumes but with the ears, tail, and parade of canines behind me, I highly doubt I would have been able to pull it off.

I pressed my face against the window in the door and tried to make out what was inside. From the flashing red light off to the right, I could tell that the security system was still on. Frowning, I took a step back and surveyed the area. Off to my left, I noticed an air duct. Its cover was slightly rusted which meant it could be pulled away with ease. I glanced at the wolves and back at the air duct. One of them could fit through.

"Got an idea?" Aristotle asked.

"Working on it," I said as I peered through the window again. Squinting, I could barely make out a jumble of wires under the security system. A green wire snaked up to the flashing red light.

"Okay," I said as I turned back to them once more. "I need one of you to go through that air duct over there and pulled out the green wire from the security system so the others can get in."

I was met with blank stares.

"You do know we're color blind," Gigi said slowly.

I mentally slapped myself. How could I forget that? I glanced up at the sky and frowned. How much time had passed? The turtles weren't here yet, that I was sure of. I technically should wait for them but I was worried about Karai's ultimatum. What if I didn't get Lindsey out in time? Would Karai blow up the factory? That's what they did in movies, right? So, I had no choice. I had to find a way in and now.

As I stared at the air duct again, a thought occurred to me. Master Splinter told me that meditation could help me control my dog transformations. So, I could possibly use meditation to transform myself back into a dog. Granted, I sucked at meditation and my chances of this actually working were slim to none but it was at least worth the try.

I closed my eyes and cleared my head of thoughts. I then focused on being a dog. I imagined myself covered in white fluffy fur from head to toe. I imagined myself running on all fours, remembering the adrenaline rush I always felt when I broke off into a sprint or jumped in the air. I thought of my collar which still hung around my neck, about rolling in the dirt, scratching my ears with my back paw, and being able to recognize anyone from their smell alone. I thought of my family and friends and the strong urge to protect them whenever I was in my dog form.

"I am Sophie," I muttered. "I am Sophie."

Most of the time when I transform, it happens so quick that I barely notice it. This time I could feel the change. I could feel my bones cracking and resetting into their new form. My skin itched and burned as my fur began to grow. My new fangs dug into my cheeks and I had to resist the urge to sneeze as my nose elongated. It was a little unnerving but I quickly pushed those thoughts aside

When I did open my eyes, I found that I had fully transformed.

Aristotle grinned lazily. "Nice job."

The wolves just stared at me wide-eyed.

"Okay," I shoved my clothes aside. "Let's go."

* * *

After successfully breaking in, we began to slowly explore the warehouse. We stuck to the shadows to avoid detection. I have to admit; even though I was scared out of my mind, I was also kind of excited. It was like I had stepped into my favorite action movie. The only thing that bugged me was the lack of security. There were barely any foot ninjas around and the ones we did see we could avoid with ease. A part of me was worried that this was a trap. I pushed that thought aside. Possible trap or not, I had a best friend to save.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that I actually picked up Lindsey's scent. I followed it to a room in the back. I pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. The entire room was filled with cages full of animals. In the center of the room was Lindsey. She was tied to a chair and gagged.

I forced myself meditate once more, my thoughts this time geared towards being a human. Again, I felt my body transform back into a human. When I opened my eyes, I was human. Master Splinter would be so proud. Well, he'd kill me first for going off on my own but then he'd be proud.

I grabbed a lab jacket off the coat rack and put it on as I entered the room. Hearing the movement, Lindsey looked up as her eyes widened.

I grinned cheekily as I removed the gag from her mouth. "Surprised to see me?"

She looked me up and down. "Are you going commando?"

I stuck my tongue out at her as I started to undo her binds. "Seriously, that's all you can say? I'm here to rescue you. Man, you've been hanging out with me too long."

"What are you doing here?" a voice said behind me.

My eyes widened as I looked back. Akira was sitting in one of the cages looking rather unhappy. His fur was dirty and ruffled and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Akira, you're alright," I said as I went to his cage and opened the door.

"You shouldn't be here," Akira tentatively took a step out of his cage. "They know you were coming."

"I figured as much," I said as I looked around the room. I grinned. "Let's release all the animals."

"Are you serious?" Lindsey said as she rubbed her wrists.

"Nothing says oh crud like a herd of stampeding animals," I said as I began to open the cages.

"Smart idea," Aristotle wagged his tail.

* * *

After releasing all the animals we slowly made our way out. Akira was still very weak so I was forced to carry him on my back. We were like a miniature parade. As we headed for the exit, the lights came on.

A loud clapping filled the air as Kai appeared before us.

"Congratulations, you found a way in," He smiled menacingly," and you tried to save the animals too. How nice."

I glared at him as we watched the foot suspiciously. I knew we were in trouble. Sure, I had a small army of animals but there was also a small army of ninjas. It would be suicide to fight them.

"So, it is true," a voice said from above. I looked up to see a cloaked figure. His arms were crossed. "You can talk to animals."

I was about to respond when there was a loud crash. The turtles came in along with Karai and her lackies.

They gave each other weird looks.

"Dude, Karai's here. What the shell?" Mikey said.

I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder. Don looked down at me his face unreadable.

Kai was pale. His eyes darted from Karai to the strange hooded figure above us. I glanced back and noticed that the hooded figure had vanished.

"Go," Karai said before turning her attention back to Kai.

Raph stepped forward but I held up my arm and shook my head.

"Let's leave before they blow up this place." I didn't let them have time to comment on the absurdity of my statement. As we raced out of the warehouse, I could hear the yells of the ninjas fighting. Although, I think the turtles would have loved to duke it out with the foot, I think we were all glad that we didn't have to fight.

We had just made it outside when the entire warehouse was suddenly engulfed in flames. We all stared at it wide-eyed.

"Ha," I said. "It proves that I was right."

Mikey laughed while Raph just shook his head. Leo and Lindsey looked like they were having a tender moment so I turned my attention to Donnie.

He was off to the right, examining the herd of animals I had gathered.

"So," I said as I walked up beside him. "You aren't mad at me, are you?"

Donnie glanced over at me. "No," He smirked, "but you're getting micro-chipped."

"What?" I said as the others started to laugh. "That's not funny. Animal abuse!"

"Do you think they made it?" Lindsey asked as she shivered.

We sobered up as we looked at the burning building. For a moment, I thought I saw a hooded figure on the roof top. However, a moment later, there was nothing but fire.

"Karai survived," Raph said. "There's no way she'd let herself die."

We all nodded.

"So, what now?" Mikey asked as he put his arms behind his head.

"Well," Leo said as he rubbed his hands together. "We need to find a place for the animals but first…" He gave me a pointed look. "Chloe needs to return the wolves she borrowed."

* * *

L.A.: And, there we go. Only one more chapter left which will hopefully be posted in the next couple of day. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	39. Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

L.A.: Okay, here's the last chapter. I was able to get it out today. Enjoy!

* * *

I was kind of sad to see the wolves go. They were actually a lot of fun to be with. Of course I didn't want the news reporting about loose wolves roaming the streets. Also, Akira was returned to the zoo and sent back to Japan where he could rest peacefully for awhile. I was glad to hear because I had felt sad for the poor monkey. Over the next two weeks, we slowly found places for the animals.

Everyone, especially Master Splinter, were relieved when most of the animals left. A few occasionally stopped by to visit. Apparently, the lair was now the coolest thing since slice bread for these animals.

Aristotle decided to stay with the turtles. Although he never admitted it, I think he had grown fond of all of us. Klunk was furious at first but he grudgingly accepted it when he knew he had no option. Klunk finally admitted to me that he is used to me being around. He still calls me Satan but now he's not trying to kill me with his mind.

Those two weeks were a blur. This was probably because I was grounded. Yep, I uncovered illegal animal testing, saved my best friend, and saved test animals but still get grounded. If that wasn't enough, nobody trusted me to actually accept being grounded so I was watched constantly. I might have complained more if it weren't for the fact that I think Donnie was slightly serious about that microchipping thing.

It was a couple of days after my punishment was lifted when Donnie called me into his lab. His expression was a mixture between excitement and sadness.

"What's up?" I said as I grabbed my favorite rolling chair and rolled over to him.

"I've done it," He said softly. "I've found a cure for you." He held up a vial filled with strange silver liquid. "If I inject you with this then the damage to your dna will be repaired."

"Oh," I said, stunned. "That's…awesome." A mixture of emotions ran through me. I was excited at the chance of being human, scared because this information was so new, shocked, and…regret? I frowned. Why was I feeling regret?

"I know, this is a shock," Don said as he set the vial back down. "So, just sleep on it and tomorrow we'll do it."

* * *

Of course when someone tells you to sleep on something, you never actually sleep. Instead, you stay up all night thinking about it. What bugged me the most was the feeling of regret that had been growing within me all day. I wasn't afraid that my relationship with the turtles and Master Splinter would change. It was pretty clear that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I guess, a part of me liked being part dog. Of course I wanted to be human again and see my family and friends. A part of me, though, was going to miss those times when I could roll out of bed and go without any cosmetics and having people constantly petting and feeding me. I think that what I was going to miss the most was talking to animals. I had gotten used to hearing them. When I was human again, my world was going to be a lot quieter.

The next morning though, I headed to Don's lab. I was a bundle of nerves as I watched him prepare the shot.

"You okay?" Don asked. "If you aren't ready then we can wait."

"No," I said as I forced myself to look away from the needle. "I'm good. Just do it quickly."

Donnie nodded and a moment later I felt the needle penetrate my arm. It stung briefly and then my blood felt as if it was running cold. This only lasted a couple of seconds. I shivered as I glanced at Don for reassurance.

He was staring at me wide-eyed.

"What?" I asked as I frowned. "I didn't sprout a horn, did I?"

"No," he laughed, "I just didn't know you were a blonde."

I gasped as I ran to the closest mirror.

There was no tail, no furry ears sticking out from the top of my head. It was me. The one I had woken up to for the past sixteen years.

I remembered that Don was still in the room. Grinning sheepishly, I turned back to him. "Not too disappointed, are you?"

Don grinned. "Not at all."

"Whoa! What happened to you?" a voice said behind me.

My eyes widened as I turned around. Aristotle was standing behind me with his head cocked.

"I understood you," I said in surprise.

"Of course you could, Satan," Klunk said as he entered the room. "Just cause you look more human doesn't change the fact that you are a dog."

"Oh no," Don said as he began to search his desk. "If you can still understand them, then you're not completely cured. You might need another treatment and…"

"Don," I said as I place a hand over his hands. "Don't worry about it."

His eyes widened. "But, you could relapse."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," I sighed. "I've been wondering this whole time why Sarafina sacrificed herself for me and I think I finally know the answer." My gaze drifted towards Aristotle and Klunk. "Sarafina spent her life figuring out a way to talk to humans. When she saw me on the lab table next to her, she saw me as her answer." I glanced back at Donnie. "And, you know, I want to. I mean I'm not going to be Dr. Doolittle and broadcast to the entire world that I can talk to animals but I can help in my own way." I grinned "Now, how about we show everyone the new…er… old me?"

* * *

A week later, I found myself at my front door. I was nervous as I shifted from one foot to another. It wasn't that I didn't want to go but I was afraid how they would react. I hadn't seen them in a long time.

I turned and stared across the street. In the alley, I could barely make out the turtles. Reassured by their presence, I turned back to the door and rang the bell.

The reaction from my parents was overwhelming. I was smothered in hugs and kisses. They wouldn't let me go and I was afraid that they would strangle me. For the next few hours, I had to tell them what had happened to me. There was no way that I was going to tell them about becoming a dog or the turtles. So, I told them I had amnesia and everything was pretty much a blur. Although they accepted the idea, I could tell that they were suspicious. Even so, it was good to have my parents again.

It was almost night time when I was finally allowed to go to my room. I was nearly exhausted from my parents' constant attention.

As I flopped down on my bed, I heard a light rap on my window. Frowning, I sat up and peered out my window.

Four green faces smiled back. I rolled my eyes as I opened my window.

"Nice room, Sophie," Mikey said as he surveyed the room.

"Unicorns" Raph raised an eyebrow and pointed to my stuffed unicorn.

I stuck out my tongue and picked up the unicorn. "It was a phase."

"So, when are you going to come visit us?" Mikey asked.

I laughed. "Well, seeing how my parents won't let me out of sight, I'm going to say that it's going to be awhile."

"Well," Leo shot a glance at Raph. "Raph, Mikey, and I have to get going."

"What?" Mikey said. "I don't have to."

Raph grabbed one of Mikey's arms while Leo grabbed the other and began to drag him away.

"No, we're leavin'" Raph said.

"Oh, I get it." Mikey grinned evilly. "I want to stay and make them feel awkward." Against his wish, he was dragged out leaving me blushing like an idiot and Don just shaking his head.

After a long moment, I turned to Don. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I did want to give you a house-warming gift," He reached in his bag and pulled out a hammer with a pink bow tied on it.

I giggled as I took it. "Is this my hammer?"

Don nodded. "Yes, it is the hammer. The one you kept asking for when you had that argument with Lindsey."

"Aw," I said as I cradled the hammer. "Thanks."

"There's one more thing." I noticed he was blushing as he pulled out a small black box.

I raised an eyebrow as I took it from him and opened it. I let out a gasp as I saw what was inside. It was a little ring with a turtle on top.

"Don…" I started.

"I just thought you could have a little reminder of us when you go to school and other activities," Don said.

"That' so sweet," I gave him a sideways glance. "It has a tracking chip in it just in case I get in trouble, right?"

"Maybe," Don sighed. "If you don't want it…"

"No!" I gave him a peck on the lips. "I love it." I put the ring on my finger and examined it.

"Good," Don walked back to the window. "Well, I should get going."

"Okay," I said, ignoring the sadness that welled up. "But come visit me soon."

"Of course I will," Don leaned in and kissed me. With a wink, he was out of my window.

I watched him until he was a mere speck on the horizon. I held up my hand to admire my ring. This adventure was over. Although I knew this, I wasn't too sad. I knew that as long as I had the turtles in my life, my life would never be boring.

* * *

L.A.: That's it. Wow, I feel so empty now. Now for the question, will there be a sequel? Not sure. I have a story idea that I want to do for TMNT but I'm not sure if it will be in this series or would stand on its own. Whatever I choose, I will put a preview of it in this story. Anyway, tell me what you think!


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